Students of the Snake
by brown phantom
Summary: NEW POLL! Jiraiya and Tsunade were supposed to be the ones to watch over Naruto. What if that responsibility fell to Orochimaru instead? How will this affect both of them, and others? How will it affect Konoha? Eventual NaruHinaHarem, good Orochimaru.
1. Responsibilities

_To anyone who enjoyed my other Naruto fic 'Naruto's Kit', rest assured I have not deserted the promised sequel and it will be posted on time. I still need to create more characters, jutsus, situations and other things before I get started and posting regularly. Until then, this fic popped up in my head and I felt it was worth posting too._

_This is an AU fic, so expect some OOCness in certain contexts. At the beginning of the story, Orochimaru has not yet left the village or started his experiments, but the idea has crossed his mind. When a new factor is thrown into his life, how will it affect him? And how will it affect those close to him? Or Konoha? This is rated mostly for language and maybe some ugly scenes, no lemons or limes are planned yet but that may change later on. _

* * *

Ch. 1 Responsibilties

Today was October 11th, the day after the Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked Konohagakure, and things weren't going well for those inside the village. Especially for the formerly-retired newly-reappointed village leader, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was sequestered in his regained office with an upset blonde infant boy resting in a basket with a blanket.

"I can't believe it. Do they really have that little faith in Minato's skill or humanity?"

"Is something wrong Sensei?" An almost eerie but not unconcerned voice asked from behind him.

"Ah Orochimaru, it's good you came by." The elder hokage said as he opened the window and let his pale student inside, who was dressed as a normal jounin. "And yes, something is indeed wrong. But first, do you think you can reach Jiraiya or Tsunade really soon?"

Orochimaru shook his head. "Sorry. You know Jiraiya is too wrapped up in his spy network to just come here all of a sudden. And need I say anything about Tsunade?"

"At least try. Tell them they've got a new responsibility that requires they return here ASAP."

The snake sannin sighed. "I can try, but forgive me if I don't have the best confidence in what my teammates will do about it. But before I even try to, tell me what the new responsibility is first."

Sarutobi nodded, knowing it would be pointless for Orochimaru to explain something to the others he himself didn't know anything about. "Alright. You see that young boy?" He pointed to the sleeping infant. Orochimaru nodded. "That's Minato's son, Naruto."

"Hmm... Naruto Namikaze. I'm assuming it means 'maelstrom' not 'fish paste cake' right?"

"Correct, but he won't be called Namikaze. He'll have his mother's maiden name Uzumaki instead."

Orochimaru blinked. "What for?"

"Well, in the last war, Minato killed off a large number of Iwa ninja as if it was nothing. And they're very angry at the humiliation they've received for it. If Iwa knew Minato had a living relative, they may seek out his blood and go to extreme measures for it. We can't afford to risk such an attack now or in the foreseeable future, so if his name is different neither him or the village will be in trouble for it."

"Sounds good on the surface, but are you gonna keep this a secret from everyone in Konoha too?"

Sarutobi nodded. "Yes. People can't reveal a secret they don't know. So until he's the proper age, he and everyone else must remain ignorant of his heritage."

"Him too? Why?" Orochimaru asked, not seeing the logic.

"Kids tend to brag about themselves or their families to sound important amongst other kids. If he's ignorant too then he can't draw too much attention to himself." Sarutobi explained.

"So Minato's son will have to live like a normal person? Who's going to raise him?"

"Minato and Kushina listed Jiraiya and Tsunade as the child's godparents."

Orochimaru looked surprised. "Really? Why?"

"Because they both knew and trusted your teammates Orochimaru. It wasn't personal."

"Oh I know that. And I already have a godchild. Remember Daisuke Mitarashi?" Orochimaru asked. Sarutobi nodded, having seen the pale sannin being friends with the named jounin and his family. "Sadly he and his wife died yesterday, but they entrusted me with caring for their daughter in such an event."

"That's good, and Minato thought Jiraiya and Tsunade would be good for Naruto. If you can ask them to come here that would be best."

Orochimaru sighed. "I can try Sensei, but remember, I don't have confidence they'll cooperate. I'll be as quick as I can, but while I'm gone, can you watch over Anko-chan for me please?" Sarutobi nodded, not seeing a problem with supervising a six year old for a bit. He could make some ninjas watch over her as a D-rank mission if he needed to focus elsewhere.

Orochimaru then left the building and then the village to find his teammates. They were good at hiding from those looking for them, but since he was their teammate, he would have an easier time than others. But that didn't guarantee anything.

* * *

Three days later Orochimaru returned to the hokage tower, empty-handed and alone. The first thing he saw when he answered were a bunch of irritated civilians and even a few ninjas too. One of them, a ninja wearing his hitai-ate over his left eye, approached him. "Ah. One of the sannin is here. Perhaps you could make Hokage-sama sensible again."

"Sensible?" Orochimaru asked, beyond confused. If there was one thing the so-called Professor wasn't, it was insensible.

"Yeah, he's been hiding up in his office for over a day and being foolish by preventing us from doing our duty."

Orochimaru didn't like any of this, and even less when murmurs from the gathered people said things like 'kill' and 'demon'. As far as he knew the kyuubi had already been taken care of, so what was all the commotion about? He didn't say anything, just walked pass them. The group let him pass with pleasure, figuring he was going to take care of the problem himself.

Orochimaru stopped in front of the door, well aware there had to be a seal to prevent entry. So he summoned a snake and had it slip into the vents that led into the room.

"Come in Orochimaru. I'm glad you're back." Sarutobi called out after three minutes, knowing only one person would gain his attention with a snake that knew not to attack.

The seal briefly gave out and Orochimaru entered, closing the door quickly so the seal could reactivate before anyone took the opportunity to barge in. As soon as he entered, a young girl with long loose purple hair barreled into him. "Orochi-jisan! Thank Kami you're back!" She was clearly crying.

"What's wrong Anko-chan?" He asked the sobbing child. He noticed the crib next to the desk and the infant inside was asleep but didn't look comfortable. And now he could see whisker marks on the boy's face.

"So many bad people were here, trying to hurt the baby. They said so many bad things about him. They tried to hurt me too."

Orochimaru's eyes widened and he gave his old teacher a look that said 'please tell me this is not true'. Sarutobi's sigh and closing his eyes did nothing to comfort his student. "I'm afraid it's true. Once the council learned what had transpired with Naruto they ordered his immediate execution. The civilians took the bait almost completely and even some of the shinobi have too."

"Why the fuck would they order that?" Orochimaru all but shouted, momentarily forgetting he had a child beside him.

"Well, Minato got rid of the kyuubi by sealing it away inside Naruto, at the cost of his life. I told them this so they'd know not to be afraid of a repeat attack by the beast and that the child should be considered a hero for bearing such a burden, but right away they craved his blood. Apparently they either believe the infant is simply the fox turned into a helpless child, or Minato did this specifically so the child could be killed thus killing the fox with it."

Orochimaru wanted to throw up. Once in a while he had curious thoughts that others could consider vile, but this was barbaric. "So the council that has always worked with Minato actually believes that he would wish a newborn to die just to solve a problem? And if not that, that he was powerful enough to change the great fox demon into a human but not strong enough to actually kill it? With all due respect Sensei, my snakes have eaten things smarter than that!"

"I've tried telling them the same, but they just can't see any other possibility. A few ninja have already tried to kill him at their beckoning, one being Minato's own student, claiming that's what Minato would have done if the demon hadn't killed him. If this keeps up my hair's going to go grey faster. I've kept him here since then, and Anko-chan's been adamant about protecting him too since she's been here." For the first time, Sarutobi smiled. "You should be proud of her. She took a kunai to the shoulder to protect him."

Orochimaru looked down at his godchild again and saw her tenderly touch her right shoulder. With the shirt in the way, he couldn't see the bandage around it, but didn't need to. He bent down and hugged his friend's daughter. "Good girl, Anko-chan. And at least you didn't get hurt worse."

"Orochimaru, any news regarding Jiraiya and Tsunade?" Sarutobi asked.

The snake sannin tore himself away from the little girl. "Sadly no, Sensei. I couldn't locate either. I checked all the nearest hot spring resorts, casinos and bars, but got nothing. I might have searched more, but my gut told me to get back here. And I'm glad I did."

Sarutobi took a puff from his pipe. "This is bad. If we can't get at least one of those two back here soon, Naruto might not last much longer."

"Then I'll take him in for now."

Sarutobi blinked but didn't look surprised or objected. "But don't you already have Anko-chan to watch over? And you were never officially declared a possible guardian for Naruto."

"If two sannins aren't available, then who better than the one that is?"

"Good point." The Sandaime agreed. "But still, won't having two children interfere with your work?" Orochimaru tended to work with the Ninja R&D division like the Naras and Akimichis when he wasn't on missions, hoping to find ways to give their shinobi advantages over others. By now some rather unscrupulous ideas and theories had come to mind for him and he was half-willing to try them out to see if they could work.

"No more than one would. Besides, it won't be permanent. Tsunade may decide she's gone off on her own long enough soon and decide to settle down back here. And sooner or later Jiraiya has to come back to tell you the results of his snooping. I can watch him in the meantime. After all, I don't see anyone else volunteering that you know won't try to kill him."

Sarutobi couldn't argue that point. "Very well, Orochimaru. I'll allow you to be Naruto's guardian and caretaker until such time that his designated godparents can do the job instead. Also, I'm creating a few laws for Naruto's protection. No one will be allowed to talk about sealing away the kyuubi or Naruto's connection to it. So none of the younger generation will be taught anything except that the kyuubi was beaten by the Yondaime, with the exception of Anko-chan here for obvious reasons. This way, maybe he can live a normal life among his peers."

"That requires a lot of faith in the people of this village sensei. And if what I saw outside is any sign, this boy's still going to have a hard time fitting in. Especially if the parents tell their children to stay away from him." Orochimaru commented.

"We'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it and hope he can gain some friends that'll see him for him." Sarutobi said, not sounding as confident as he wanted to, which Orochimaru easily noticed.

With nothing else to say, Orochimaru thanked his teacher, grabbed Naruto and Anko, and left the building thru the window. No way he was going to walk thru that crowd again holding the whiskered infant.

He took the two to his small modest home and set up a futon and crib in his guest room. "Sorry but you two will have to share a room for a little bit."

Anko nodded. "That's okay Orochi-jisan. I've been sleeping in the office with him and the old man since you left. You... aren't going away again so soon are you?"

Orochimaru shook his head. "No, not until things here get settled for you two. I need to see just how many are going to try to hurt him, and you just because you know him. Again, protecting him was a very good thing to do."

Anko smiled. "He's cute, especially with those whiskers."

"I guess he is. I hope that's not the only reason you helped him."

Anko shook her head. "Nope. I thought he might be able to be that little brother I always wanted. And if he's staying here with me, he really is."

Orochimaru smiled. "I guess you're right. And as the big sister, you need to be there to keep him safe if someone tries that again. Try not to get yourself killed though, and get me if things get ugly."

"Kay."

'I sure hope this works out until those two get here.' Orochimaru thought.


	2. Problems

Ch. 2 Problems

Two years have passed since Naruto was born, and they hadn't been pleasant years for him. Even though he was too young to ever remember all of this time, his foster family would never forget it. Everything that happened or almost happened to Naruto, they either softened or took in his place, and while it hurt, in a way it brought them all closer.

Tsunade still had not come back to the village or been confirmed seen in that time. Jiraiya had come back a few times to make his reports but never stayed long enough to actually do anything about his responsibility to Naruto, even see him. At times Orochimaru seriously wondered if the peeping tom was even aware of it or Naruto. Sarutobi told him otherwise though a few months ago.

"I managed to inform him about Minato's son being alive and reminded him of his duty." The Sandaime had explained to his one remaining student. "He says he can't simply stop what he's doing since it would take too long to get restarted once he had free time again and he's onto something potentially vital to Konoha's safety. He doesn't like this, but feels it's best to just let things stay as they are for now."

It wasn't that Orochimaru really minded having to care for Naruto, although the frequent feedings and diaper changes in the beginning had been a hassle. Outside that, he liked the boy. The sheer playful innocence of the child was a welcome change to having to deal with shinobi matters all day long, with people that long ago forgot what innocence was. And the youthful curiosity reminded him why he got into R&D in the first place, to help young ninja improve their chances of returning home alive. Over time the concept of lengthening a ninja's lifespan sounded more tempting, and if he ever figured out a promising way, he might try it out. But now it wouldn't be just for his own benefit.

Naruto and Anko both helped the pale sannin a lot in his personal life. Because of his snake-like appearance and albinoish complexion, Orochimaru never really had much of a social or romantic life. All of his friends were business friends he occasionally hung out with when off duty. Like his teammates or Anko's parents. So he had basically given up on love or having a family of his own long ago. Having Anko and Naruto around filled the void he figured he'd just tolerate for the rest of his life, and in a way he considered them the children he never had. Anko still called him 'Jiisan' though and Naruto would too when he saw him. One time as a one year old he hissed instead, making both Orochimaru and Anko laugh a lot.

Anko missed her parents but liked her foster uncle and brother. She was aware him being with them wasn't intended to be permanent, but decided Naruto was going to be her brother no matter what. She proved it by taking several fists and cuts for defending him or just by being associated with him. The first few were adults which were arrested for child endangerment, but after the rest learned they encouraged their children. Many were reluctant, especially those that knew Anko before, but not all so she became victimized all over again. Her only response: "Better me than otouto."

Orochimaru was livid about all this. Even more so when one of the babysitters early on tried to kill them both. Anko had to use a kitchen knife to cut the sitter's achilles tendon before they could do worse than put a few bruises on them both. The sitter tried to press charges but since Sarutobi handled the case the sitter had a restraining order against the residence and occupants since then and community service. After that, he never left them with anyone without a shadow clone or a snake summon nearby. He simply couldn't trust anyone to be near them without him.

At the moment Anko, who was eight years old now, was practicing out in her house's backyard while Naruto took a nap inside their room. The two still shared a room, which made it easier for her to defend him if anything should happen. Anko was throwing some kunais at human-shaped boards to improve her aim for certain spots, a point Orochimaru told her was vital to perfect for her. After she threw them, her personal summons Kogyoku, which Orochimaru had arranged to be permanently summoned to defend the girl until she was older, would retrieve them for her. Naruto had one too, a snake called Sango that was watching him like a guard dog at the moment. Both snakes were venomous and could become as large as boas if they had to. The only way to tell them apart was Kogyoku was purple with red spots down her back and Sango was orange with black streaks. Naruto was probably the only toddler in the world that wasn't afraid of a snake.

Kogyoku had brought Anko her weapons back when she tensed up. "Something wrong?"

"Do you hear that buzz?" Anko quietly asked.

Kogyoku listened. Luckily as a summons she had some skills normal snakes didn't, such as being able to hear like humans could rather than just vibrations thru the ground. "Yeah, I do. Sounds like bees or something."

Soon they both noticed a large swarm of dangerous-sounding small insects flying towards their house and settling around the closed window of the kid's room. They couldn't get in thanks to a few rudimentary seals Orochimaru knew, but they weren't going to stop trying. Anko and Kogyoku almost hid until they saw the bugs weren't after them, just Naruto obviously. Problem was there was nothing either of them could do about it, except one possibility.

Kogyoku saw Anko pull out her emergency paper bomb kunai and stopped her before she could use it. "No don't. It won't get rid of all of them and you'll just make it easier for them to get inside."

"What should I do then?"

Before the purple snake could answer, a mysterious person dressed like an Anbu agent came up behind them and knocked Anko out. Kogyoku grew to the size of a python and constricted herself around the intruder, only for him to replace himself with a log. With only one thing left to do, Kogyoku dragged Anko into a safe spot outside the house, got smaller, and darted to Orochimaru's office as fast as she could.

* * *

Orochimaru, one of the heads of Konoha's R&D department, was going over some proposals for funds to explore researching new ideas and why they were advisable. Many were, but they had to be prioritized first. "Hmm... I've got requests for extra protein supplements to the Akimichi's, well, they may have to use their own funds if possible. This guy wants to see if one can find a way to siphon off another's chakra like a parasite... handy, but maybe risky. This guy wants to see what would happen if cells from someone with a kekkei genkai were introduced into the body of someone without one... hmm... I'm intrigued. And this guy... oh, Amachi wants to try new terrain to test possible physical adaptability. Claims to be very promising. Hmm..."

Before Orochimaru could make a decision on anything, Kogyoku came in thru the air duct. "Orochimaru-sama! Danger at the house!"

He took the snake into his hands and shushined away without a word. When he showed up in front he immediately rushed inside and heard hissing coming from the kid's room. He went in to see Naruto sleeping, ignorant of the trouble, but Sango was large and looking outside. Kogyoku left Orochimaru to go check on Anko. "Sango, what happened?"

"A large swarm of bugs, acting like they were on a mission, tried to get in. And some Anbu knocked Anko-chan out but got away before Kogyoku-nee-san could punish them."

"Sounds like an Aburame, but why would they do this? They've never had a problem with us before?"

"Apparently one does." The orange snake stated hastily.

Orochimaru frowned. "I'm bringing this up to the hokage."

* * *

Sarutobi knew what to expect when his pale student entered his office. "Well what happened now Orochimaru?"

"Sensei, things are getting out of hand. The clans are now starting to act out against Naruto. They've kept their distance, probably to avoid offending me, but now a confirmed attack from an Aburame shows this situation isn't getting better."

"A confirmed attack?"

"How many ninjas use insect swarms?" Orochimaru sarcastically asked.

"I see." The Sandaime responded. "But can you confirm the individual?"

"No I cannot. But I know this won't be the last time. Sensei, I know you've done what you can for the boy, but... I'm seriously reconsidering whether or not this is the best environment for him. For either of them."

Sarutobi blinked. "Orochimaru, that can't be done. It's not safe for them out there."

"It's not safe for them in here either! If anything it's worse!" Orochimaru shouted angrily. "You've put in so much effort to keep Naruto from having enemies outside the village, but you keep forgetting he has them inside it too!"

"I forget nothing Orochimaru." Sarutobi countered sternly. "I am not oblivious to the torment that has been going on at your household. Have you forgotten that all those arrested have suffered for their crimes?"

"You have helped, but those not arrested just find new ways to hurt them. Usually thru their own children. Are you aware that none of the parents will let their kids play with Anko-chan anymore? Just because she's 'the demon's sister'? She used to have a whole network of friends, now I can count the number of kids that still dare to talk to her on one hand. And do you honestly think Naruto will be in a better situation when he's older? Does this sound like a healthy environment for them?"

"No, but I can't very well tell parents how to raise their children nor the children to disobey their parents."

Orochimaru folded his arms. "Not only that, but many of the merchants are trying things too. Anko-chan can barely buy anything unless I'm right there with her since they won't dare overcharge or deny me, and I know the situation won't be any different when Naruto's older. You think it's good for them to be in a town that denies them fair prices or maybe the right to shop even if they can pay?"

Sarutobi didn't answer, mostly because he knew his student had more to say. "Sensei, I've gone to a lot of trouble to ensure the safety of those two. I even have snakes around them 24-7, and I could only do that by giving Manda four living scarifices, which I got thanks to your order." Sarutobi nodded in recollection. Four Anbu were found guilty of trying to murder the two children by arson and he allowed Orochimaru to execute the punishment. While brutal, at least some good came out of it in the form of snake guardians. "Sensei, I'm seriously considering that this is not the best place for them to live."

"Orochimaru, your concern is admirable-" Sarutobi started.

"Spare me the bullshit Sensei. I know you're going to try to convince me they're better off here. Give me one good reason why I should let them stay here any longer rather than just take them away."

"Simple." Sarutobi stated. "Minato sacrificed his life so his son could protect this village. If you take him away from it, it will make his sacrifice meaningless."

"If the villagers keep trying to kill him it'll have the same results." Orochimaru countered. "If Minato could speak to you right now, what would he say?"

"I don't know. Maybe he'd agree with you, maybe he wouldn't. The council and citizens here have been trying to speak for Minato so much since his death I'm almost afraid to now. But consider this Orochimaru, you're only the acting guardian of Naruto. Jiraiya and Tsunade are still the ones with majority say regarding his whereabouts and Jiraiya thinks that-"

"Shut the fuck up Sensei!" Now Orochimaru looked pissed. "How can you possibly have the nerve to say that? You actually expect me to believe that Jiraiya's opinion of Naruto's well-being outclasses mine, the one who has actually been raising the boy for the past two years? The man hasn't even seen Naruto in that time, and _he's_ the one who knows best? He's not the one who's taken hits for the boy nor has he fed or clothed or sheltered him. Hell Sensei, you know as well as I do Anko-chan and I are the only ones who have any real claim to be the boy's family."

"Well I can't argue that, but still, give the village another chance for the children to fit into. For my sake if nothing else."

Orochimaru sighed. "Fine Sensei, I'll try to tolerate this a little more. But if nothing changes for the better, I _will_ do something about it, with your permission or not."

Sarutobi slowly nodded in acceptance. "Very well. Tell them 'hi' for me." Orochimaru nodded and then poofed away, revealing he had been a shadow clone the whole time. "Guess he's getting even more protective of them both. Does that make him a mother hen snake?"

* * *

"So no luck?" Danzo asked from within his secret chamber.

"Sorry Danzo-sama, but the residence is better guarded than previously anticipated." Torune Aburame, a bug-wielding member of ROOT answered.

'Damn, I figured that a sannin would make sure his abode would be secure but apparently he did better than I thought.' Danzo mumbled in his head. 'But I want that tool. Hmm... if I can't get it by force, maybe I've have to try a different approach.'


	3. Pain

Ch. 3 Pain

A few days later without attacks, Orochimaru had a visitor come to him at his office. "Ah, Danzo-san, what brings you here today?" Orochimaru had always tried to be civil to the crippled council member, mainly because the warhawk had always supported the R&D department to improve shinobi abilities, but that didn't mean Orochimaru trusted him. After all, this guy had been the only member of the civilian council to not order Naruto's death, and Orochimaru did not believe the man was just being compassionate back then.

"Well, Orochimaru, I have a proposition for you. You see, I've heard from a colleague of mine that you're experimenting on the introduction of kekkei genkai into new hosts. And I've come ac-"

"Hold on a second." Orochimaru interrupted. "A colleague told you? I haven't discussed that with anyone and I haven't even approved the start of the experiment."

"My source must have been the researcher to submit the request then. I was under the impression that it had already been approved." Danzo calmly answered.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. "What goes on here isn't meant to be discussed with those outside to keep our secrets safe. You of all people Danzo should know the value of keeping secrets."

'You have no idea how right you are.' Danzo quickly thought. "Well, back to what I was saying, I had chanced upon some stored DNA of the Shodai Hokage. And as you know, your teammate Tsunade Senju is the last known of that bloodline and it's dormant in females. And she's also reached the age where conception is almost impossible, if not already impossible. A very useful kekkei genkai for us could be lost forever, unless we seek a new means to keep it going."

Orochimaru thought it over. "Well, it sounds reasonable, but what if the subject rejects the new DNA?"

"That's what experiments are for."

"Even so, I have multiple fields to explore and I can't give funding to them all."

Danzo smiled. "Tell you what. I'll supply the funds for this project and we'll use the mokuton as the trial run. If we can succeed in getting a successful user, then we can someday acquire indefinite amounts of kekkei genkai for our village."

"And in return?" Orochimaru asked.

"Nothing at the moment. How about an IOU?"

Orochimaru did not like the sound of that. An IOU to this man was like having one to the yakuza. But the idea he was proposing sounded enticing. "Alright, we'll go forward with it. You'll have to supply us with about three million ryo up front though and your IOU must be within reason."

Danzo smiled like he got away with murder. "Pleasure doing business with you Orochimaru-san. Let's hope for the best."

* * *

Another year went by and things sort of stabilized for the Orochi household. Attacks lessened but did not stop and the civilians resorted to angry glares when they saw Naruto and Anko. Orochimaru had made it clear that any attacks would be returned just as badly to the attackers by himself personally, and Sarutobi said he had the rights to.

Anko lost more and more friends because of their parent's prejudices or peer pressure, so now she was down to two. The first was a girl named Kurenai Yuuhi, who's parents were more open-minded to the jinchuuriki and his situation. The second was an orphan boy named Kabuto Yakushi, recently brought to the village after being found alone in a battlefield and didn't mind the kids either. Neither were as lively as Anko usually was, but they could keep up with her.

Naruto himself didn't have too many friends. It was hard to when most parents didn't want to bring their children over. Generally speaking, if Naruto's secret didn't keep them away, his snake guardian scared them off without even trying. Sango didn't like that, but she was sworn to protect him so she couldn't just leave him vulnerable. And it got tougher after the insect attack, since Orochimaru wouldn't let anyone from a clan enter his house without his personal approval and presence. So in short only the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clan heads had their children come over because they trusted the Yondaime's skills and hoped their kids wouldn't be afraid of snakes later on. The Hyuuga would have if they were more open to mingle with others, and the Uchiha's deemed the whole issue unworthy of significance, their words.

At the present time, a soon to be three year old Naruto was hanging out at the Yamanaka Flower Shop with a three year old Ino while Orochimaru and Anko were trying to find him a birthday present or two. Inoichi was watching the two kids have fun their own way in the back of the room while going over a newspaper and noticed nothing out of place. There were a few insects buzzing around, but that was normal for a place filled to the brim with flowers.

But after a little bit the buzzing noise of insects got a little too loud to be normal and Inoichi got suspicious. The kids noticed it and got scared, looking to Inoichi to do something about it. He looked around sharply but saw nothing suspicious, but went for the cabinet and grabbed the pesticide to be sure.

A large black swarm of insects massed together thru the open windows and entered the unsealed building. Ino screamed and ran for her father. Naruto tried to as well but the insects swiftly covered his body and started attacking him. He screamed and tried to swat them all off, but fell to the floor and his movements slowed. Sango could do nothing but watch and hate herself for it.

'Something's not right. Those aren't normal Aburame insects; those just eat chakra, not sting and bite. These things are actually wounding Naruto.' Inoichi thought, as horrified as he and his daughter looked. Ino tried to help swat them off, but her father grabbed her hand. "No don't! Those bugs will hurt you too."

"Use the spray tou-chan!" Ino pleaded.

"I can't now, Naruto would get poisoned too."

Naruto screamed again and his body glowed a faint red. The insects backed off bit but didn't leave his body or stop entirely. Unable to take the pain anymore, Naruto did the one thing any child in his situation would do: he ran. He didn't know where he was going or what he'd do when he got there but he had to just run. The Yamanaka's followed.

* * *

"Think he might like this, Jiisan?" Anko asked as she pointed to a play sword on display in a window.

Orochimaru was about to answer, but any answer died on his tongue when he heard a familiar scream down the street. Anko heard it too and lost interest in the question entirely.

Both looked down the street in hopes they were wrong. They saw a young child running around with a swarm of bugs clinging to him. A few passerby would try to beat the bugs off him but they moved off on their own just enough to reveal who the child was. Once people saw, they either looked the other way, or kept beating him for a different reason.

Orochimaru, Anko, and Kogyoku rushed to help him. They were a little relieved when an Anbu agent dropped by the boy and did a fireball jutsu. The bugs fled off the boy leaving Naruto to take the brunt of the attack. Orochimaru and Anko were horrified by this, and even more so to see the Anbu didn't look repentent or even tempted to put out the flame. Although Orochimaru saw that last part more than Anko did.

Orochimaru used a gentle wind jutsu to put out the flame while Anko yelled at the Anbu, crying in anger. "You jerk! You missed!"

"That depends on where I was aiming."

Anko gasped and then began hitting the masked ninja's legs, to which he reacted by kicking her off. She was undaunted by this and tried to attack again, but he simply left the area, seeing no reason to stick around anymore. But not before Kogyoku managed to give him a painful bite on his right calve.

Before the insects could attack again, Orochimaru used a fire jutsu on them as intended and they were completely incinerated. He looked at Naruto and was very pissed, but not at Naruto of couse. The blonde boy had second degree burns almost all over his arms and face, with the clothed areas only bearing first degree burns, and was breathing heavily.

"Otouto? Is he going to be okay jiisan?" Anko asked tearily, on the verge of hysteria.

Orochimaru carefully picked him up. "He will be. I know how to best help him. Anko-chan, get on my back. Kogyoku, go get Sango." The purple snake nodded and darted away while Anko got ahold of the snake sannin's shoulders. He then darted off to a safe place for them all.

Some civilians started to wonder if maybe the one sannin still in town had been pushed too far.

* * *

'That's it. I've had enough of this. Minato must be rolling around in his grave.' Orochimaru angrily thought as he entered his house and placed Naruto down on the couch. The kyuuubi's chakra was already healing the young boy. And fortunately for him he was unconscious by now. The two snakes entered the house a few moments later and got by the couch too.

Anko, with tear-streaked cheeks and red eyes, hovered over her brother figure like a watchdog. "Jiisan, what's gonna happen to him?"

"He'll be fine, Anko-chan. He's already healing and should be as good as new by tonight."

"What should we do about that bastard that burned him?" Anko asked, sounding a little more angry now. Orochimaru never bothered to enforce appropriate language for the kids since they heard offensive things almost daily anyway.

"We'll see to him. And also whoever sent those bugs at him. That wasn't natural either. But first, I've got something bigger in mind."

Anko blinked. "Like what, Jiisan?"

"This has gone on for far too long. Sarutobi-sensei can't bargain his way out of this. I'm going to make sure this stops once and for all." The snake sannin stated with hostility and venom, and maybe a little glee at the last idea.

Anko smiled. "Can I help?"

"Absolutely. But we have to act tonight and you can't tell a soul." He told her, to which she nodded. "Good, now go pack up everything you have. We're going on a little trip."

"How long?"

"Long enough."

Anko looked worried about having to maybe leave her home and remaining friends for who knows how long. But after looking at Naruto one more time, she knew it was a matter of time before that happened to her too. And Orochimaru had never led her wrong before. "I'll be ready in a jiffy." She told him before heading for her room.

"It won't be that easy, Master Orochimaru." Kogyoku commented.

"Oh I know that. That's why I'm going to put on a big show for Konoha and do a little damage too." The pale sannin replied.

"Like what?" Sango asked.

"Well, let's just say Konoha will learn what happens when you try to corner a viper." He told them with a sinister chuckle. "And best of all, since that meeting with the Kumo representatives is tonight, few will be available to interfere in my little scheme."

* * *

Night came over Konoha, and it would be a night that shaped it's future indefinitely.

Most of the representatives of the clans were at a meeting with visitors from Kumo, hoping to arrange an alliance of sorts. The streets were deserted as people went home to sleep with night Anbu making their rounds. Overall, nothing ominous or unexpected.

Sarutobi had called a brief break during the long discussion with the foreign ninjas so everyone could stretch their legs and use the restroom if needed. While he himself got a drink from a breakroom, an Anbu agent approached him. "Hokage-sama, fire has just broke out at Orochimaru-sama's residence and the R&D department."

Sarutobi frowned. 'Ah fuck. This _will _end badly I just know it.' "Thanks for alerting me. Tell my advisers and the clan heads I'm going to personally check this matter out and no decisions are to be confirmed without my presence. Hopefully this won't take too long." The old man then got into his combat outform and headed for Orochimaru's house, hoping to settle his student before he acted rash. Not that it wouldn't be uncalled for, he admitted.


	4. Deception

_AN: I'm messing a lot with the canon storyline here for the sake of character alliance._

Ch. 4 Deception

Sarutobi arrived at the Orochi household to see it burning to the ground. The Anbu that arrived with him began immediately putting it out with water jutsus. Once the fire was gone, they salvaged thru the wreckage for any bodies. Sarutobi prayed they wouldn't find any.

One of the Anbu captains came close to the elderly hokage. "Hokage-sama, there is little you can do here. Perhaps it would be more beneficial for you to investigate the other arson incident."

"So this is a confirmed arson?" Sarutobi asked, not that he doubted it of course.

"Most likely sir. Orochimaru-sama was a very skilled ninja so this being just an accident is highly unlikely. My guess is someone with a few matches or something decided to act against the occupants and caught them off guard."

Sarutobi nodded, having come to the same conclusion. 'I'm sorry for everything Orochimaru, Anko,... Naruto. At least you're out of your misery now.' He sighed, then thought of something else. 'Wait, if this was just a stroke of luck, it would be too much of a coincidence for Orochimaru's lab to be struck at the same time. Something's going on here.'

"I will go check out the other scene as you suggested. Take all bodies to the morgue or infirmary, whichever is appropriate for them." Sarutobi told the Anbu captain before heading off for the R&D building.

Said Anbu returned to work with the others going thru the wreckage. "Find anything?"

"No confirmed deaths yet sir." A weasel-masked Anbu told him.

"Good. Let's hope it stays that way, or Hokage-sama will not be happy."

* * *

When Sarutobi made it to the burning wing of the building, he didn't know what he expected to find. But he definitely didn't expect to find Orochimaru standing in the flames crying while all his work burned to ashes. "Orochimaru, what is the meaning of this? Did you do this?"

The snake sannin slowly turned to look at his mentor, eyes watering but as cold and hard as steel. "No sensei, I have done nothing. It's Konoha that has done all this. And maybe you by passive association too, but I won't hold you to it."

"What are you talking about?"

"I should have done what I thought was best long ago, your pleas be damned. But because I felt I owed you, I stayed and kept Naruto here. And now, he's gone."

Sarutobi paled. "You don't mean...?"

Orochimaru nodded. "Another attack, this time a successful one. Ask the Yamanaka's; they saw it too. Naruto was ambushed by some type of insect I've never seen before, making me think the Aburame's have others besides their norms or someone else was framing them. Either way, that combined to someone setting my house on fire, Naruto didn't make it, and Anko-chan got caught in the flames. Not to mention, when all the civilians and even an Anbu wearing a pig mask saw him, they just added to his pain. I bet the Anbu started the fire since he used a fire jutsu on Naruto earlier today."

Sarutobi sighed, feeling a wave of remorse and regret. "Orochimaru, I'm sorry for your loss."

"Spare me the bullshit sentiment sensei. I've warned you several times this could happen, and you always said no one would go that far. Well guess what? They did, and my two godchildren are dead because you thought it was easier to not get involved more than you did. And I don't care what some legal form may say; Naruto was mine! And all my work for this village has been destroyed by someone else too." He spread his arms to better imply the fire going on around themselves. "This is what Konoha has come to? Trying to kill a child and claiming he didn't deserve to even be conceived? And attacking those close to him for spite? _This _is the Konoha Minato died for? Naruto should not have had to suffer for this horrid place."

"Orochimaru?" Sarutobi was now worried about what his student would do in retaliation.

"Sensei, I'm going to take a page out of Tsunade's book and tell them all to fuck off. After tonight, not even you can give me reason to stay here even until the sun rises. I'm wiping my hands off Konoha as of now."

Sarutobi knew he couldn't stop his student, and deep down he couldn't fault him for taking this course of action. "Where will you go? What will you do?"

For the first time in this entire discussion, Orochimaru grinned. "People can't tell a secret they don't know, eh sensei?"

"If I don't know, I'll be forced to put you in the bingo book as a missing nin."

Orochimaru scoffed. "Like you did with Tsunade?" The slug sannin and her apprentice were probably the only registered ninja under Konoha that were not contained within the city and not classified as missing nin. Jiraiya wasn't classified that way because he was gone regularly for business In Tsunade's case, just leisure or apathy, maybe both, but she wasn't listed in the book.

"Tsunade is no threat to us. With you in this emotional state I can't promise anything." Sarutobi replied sternly.

"I will not ally myself with any enemy village sensei, but neither will I ally myself with this one anymore."

"So what are you going to do? Just wander around and wait to die?"

"Oh I'm in no hurry for death, never have been. But I'll find something to do to occupy myself. But it's none of your business sensei. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll getting a little too hot in here." Orochimaru said before shushining away. Sarutobi did the same and the building continued to burn until Anbu arrived to put it out.

* * *

Before the meeting with Kumo could resume, Sarutobi called the whole council together. "Tonight, Naruto Uzumaki has been killed by some unknown arsonist." A few cheers from over half the council made him pause and flare up his KI to silence them. "And because of that and the reaction I just witnessed, Orochimaru has cut all ties to the village."

"He can't do that! We need him here!" A random civilian shouted.

Sarutobi glared some more. "Maybe you should have thought of that before encouraging all that mistreatment amongst the kids in his care. Both of them are dead now because of idiots like you all. Why the hell _should_ he remain here to keep working for such a village? Would you?"

"At least my child isn't a monster." Another random member commented, ignoring the hokage's glare.

"Irregardless of how you all may see the situation, Orochimaru's sees it as the final straw for his patience. He has no reason to help us anymore, and I probably wouldn't be surprised if he decided to do something drastic later on. Feel proud of yourselves, for you've helped us lose a valuable shinobi and possibly made several people you know targets of his wrath. And for what? Because you can't let go of a grudge no matter who the victim is? What a shining example of good leadership. But enough of this, let's just finish this meeting and call it a night."

They all followed his lead, but several were already celebrating in their heads over the reported death of a blonde whiskered boy.

* * *

"Did it work?" Anko asked as her foster uncle came into view from her hiding spot, a bunker outside the city walls designed for civilian safety in invasion times.

"Like a charm." Orochimaru told her as he ruffled her hair. "By tomorrow morning, everyone will think you and Naruto are dead and I left grieving. We can find somewhere to live with no one looking for you two. And I can train you both to fight back like shinobi should."

Anko smiled. She was glad for that. Whe Orochimaru told her they were going to leave their home and not come back, she was a litttle frightened. Especially if tracker ninja tried to find them. He told her he was going to stage their deaths, and that way no one would hunt them. Everyone had to think that, even the hokage, or it wouldn't work. And apparently it did. "No more bad people?"

"Well, no more from Konoha at least. There are still enemies outside, but they won't attack as much."

"Orochimaru-sama, is it true we can't go back?" A young boy with white hair asked.

"Well, you could, but where would you go Kabuto-kun?" Orochimaru found the boy in the lab before the fire had started to attract Sarutobi. Apparently the boy had been the subject of a few experiences Danzo had been doing without Orochimaru's knowledge. He wasn't supposed to even be involved, but Danzo had his own agenda, and damn those that didn't go along with it. He had been trying to create many kekkei genkais, with just the mokuton tests being a cover front.

According to the results Orochimaru saw tonight, most subjects dies, but two young boys and one girl survived. One was about Anko's age named Yamato and he was a success in acquiring the mokuton, and the only one at that. Kabuto had been the second boy and the subject of better-than-normal healing experiments, and they seemed to work too. The girl had been Kurenai, who had not been tested on yet but had been selected since she was Anko's friend. Her parents were killed two days ago, making her an orphan now. And according to the results, a second lab had been doing similar work under Danzo's orders, masked as Orochimaru's approval, in the Land of the Sea, being headed by a researcher Orochimaru knew named Amachi. And he had some successes too.

Orochimaru, already unnerved by the horrible treatment done to Naruto and Anko, became even more upset when this was revealed to him. His work was being usurped from him under the guise of his own approval, making it look like it was all his idea. There might have been a time he would it, but he was in no mood for it now. So he took the kids to a safe place, went back and set fire to the lab to destroy his notes, ensuring no one else could misuse his work, and waited for Sarutobi to show up and act his part. He lied about Naruto and Anko's death to ensure no one else would follow him, believing him to have left in grief rather than protecting the children.

Back at the present, Orochimaru let everyone who had been hiding come back outside. "If you want to go back Kabuto-kun you can, as long as you swear not to say a word about tonight. Same for you, Kurenai-chan."

The bespectacled boy sighed wearily. "No, that's alright Orochimaru-sama. I don't have any family there so what do I have to go back to?"

Kurenai tearily nodded. "Yeah, me too."

"Where will we go?" Anko asked. Kogyoku settled on her shoulders to hear this while Sango did the same with Naruto. Yamato looked at the snakes wide-eyed, afraid they would bite.

"First, we're going to settle some business in Land of the Sea with someone misusing my work. And then we'll go somewhere I know no one we can't trust will find us there."

"Where?" Naruto asked.

"I'll tell you later. Not a good idea to say too much near here, and we should get out of here." Orochimaru answered. With no other words, he picked up Naruto and placed him on his back. Kogyoku got larger and let Anko and Kurenai ride her, with Sango doing the same for Kabuto and Yamato. They started running or slithering away from Konoha, not sure when or if they'd ever see that village again. Orochimaru also created several shadow clones and had them run in several directions with extra summoned snakes to tag along, making it that much harder for anyone to find them.

* * *

An hour later the kids had fallen asleep, and everyone on the move slowed down a little to not disturb them too much. Kogyoku stopped completely though, and turned her head around. "Orochimaru, I smell someone coming up from behind."

The pale sannin placed Naruto on Sango's back, getting ready to fight. He went off to get rid of this potential threat, only to find a Kumo nin running towards Land of Lightning. He would have done nothing about it, except he saw the burlap bag the Kumo nin carried with something moving inside it trying to get out. Remembering the meeting that had been going on, he suspected something foul and intercepted the ninja. "That had better not be what I think you have in there."

"None of your business freak." The Kumo ninja told him bitterly.

Orochimaru pulled out Kusanagi and stabbed the man before he could get away. He then took the bag and opened it to find a bruised and crying little girl with white eyes. "So, did you decide on your own to kidnap a child, or were you ordered to?"

"F-fuck you." The Kumo nin answered, coughing up some blood.

Orochimau kicked his head, snapping his neck, then held the crying hurt girl. "Don't worry, you're safe now. I'm Orochimaru. What's your name?"

"Hi.. Hinata."

"Well Hinata-chan, want me to have someone take you home?" He asked, and got worried when she looked even more frightened and shook her head no fiercely. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Ev... eryone t... there, is bad. Okaa-san was good, but now gone. Everyone else hate me. Don't wanna go back. Please don't make me." She broke down after that and wept into his chest. Orochimaru then noticed that some of the bruises weren't as fresh as others, meaning she had been hurt before the kidnapping.

'I can't believe it. It sounds like some of the Hyuuga like to beat up their own rather than just Naruto. That place keeps getting worse and worse.' He calmed himself before he spoke to avoid upsetting Hinata. "Don't worry, you'll stay with us in the meantime. We're going to find a home where bad things like that don't happen to kids like you."

She gasped and hugged him. "Thank you thank you thank you."

"No sweat. Now, get some rest and we can get out of here, far away from Konoha." He then looked at the dead Kumo shinobi. "But first, a little something for whoever told him to do this."

When the dead Kumo nin was found a few days later, it looked like a rock slide had happened and crushed him, The wound from a blade looked to be done by accident in the fall. Hinata's body couldn't be found but the bag was found snagged on a branch in a river downstream, implying her body was lost at sea. And since the death appeared to be an act of Kami rather than caused by Konoha, Kumo couldn't make a demand for a Hyuuga death, sparing Hizashi. The Hyuuga's were grateful, but spared no time or effort to confirm Hinata's death.


	5. Marked

Ch. 5 Marked

After a long run and a boat ride from the southern edge of Land of Fire's coastline, Orochimaru and his charges had reached the Land of the Sea. He himself had set up a lab there to attempt some things away from Konoha to ensure some secrets didn't leak out in case of spies, plus some direct access to aquatic resources helped. He hadn't been there in years, so another researcher named Amachi had been running it in the meanwhile.

"Is this where we're gonna stay, Jiisan?" Anko asked as she got out of the boat.

Orochimaru shook his head. "Can't. This would be one of the first places they'd check for me. We're here to see just what was done while I was away. Then we'll head for our new home."

"Where is that?" Kurenai asked.

"I told you I'd tell you when we get there."

Everyone got off the boat. Orochimaru and the two snakes led the five kids towards the hidden lab built by the shore, designed to look like a run down building no one ever cared to renovate. At least on the surface; inside it was everything a laboratory was supposed to be. Orochimaru had made it that way himself, using the old 'hiding in plain sight' principle to make it so unlikely to be bothered with. And even if someone did bother to try and sneak inside, there were workers already inside who could get rid of them.

Orochimaru led everyone inside while carrying Hinata. The poor girl had barely walked at all since she came into his company, and he suspected it was more because of shock or fear than her injuries. She said even less too, but she at least smiled when everyone tried to lift her spirits.

Orochimaru led them thru the corridors into the building, a faint trail of light bulbs guiding him into the research center. None of the kids asked where they were going since he already explained it to them, but they started to feel something was wrong here. Orochimaru sensed nothing, well used to surroundings such as this from decades of ninjahood. He came to a closed door that wasn't locked, so he opened it and stepped inside.

Right away he wished he hadn't done that, to spare the children from the sight of the room's contents if nothing else. There were large glass containers that looked like oversized test tubes lined against one side of the room, each but two with a person inside it. The ages and genders varied, and out of all of them only one container had a glowing light on it, indicating something unique but not immediately obvious. There was also a table with various pieces of lab equipment and papers spread about. It looked like someone here had been doing some rather unorthodox human experimenting here, something the kids weren't supposed to see.

"What is this place?" Kurenai asked.

"This was a lab to see how we could improve our ninja's physical capabilities." Orochimaru answered. "This wasn't what I was expecting though. Especially that, whatever that is." He then pointed to the glass tubes.

"Are they... even alive?" Yamato asked, having flashbacks to the experiments done on him for the past year and being the only one to walk away alive from it.

Orochimaru carefully looked over each one. The one tank with the glowing light had a monitor that showed a faint heartbeat. He then noticed all the tanks had monitors too but this one was the only one actually working. And judging by the size of the person inside, the test subject was a very young child, making the pale sannin uneasy. "This one is. I'm going to get her out of there." He checked everywhere for a latch of some kind, and found one near the top of the tank. He pulled it, and the liquid inside the container drained out, letting the captive inside sink to the bottom. Once it was drained, the glass casing opened up and Orochimaru pulled the small person out onto the floor.

This test subject was indeed a young child, a girl close to Naruto and Hinata's age who couldn't possibly be more than half a year older at most. She had long purple hair and a pale complexion, but not albinoish like Orochimaru. She also didn't have any clothes on so Orochimaru wrapped her in his jacket to keep her covered. In doing so, he saw a strange mark on her left shoulder that looked like three tomoes inside a circle, resembling a seal of some sort.

"Is she okay?" Naruto asked.

"I think, but I'm not sure. Somebody did something weird to her."

"Ah. Orochimaru-sama. Nice to have you drop by." A new voice said from a door to the left of the one everyone had entered from. Orochimaru turned to see a thin man with white hair and a long nose standing in a lab coat with his hands behind his back.

"Amachi, what have you been doing here?" Orochimaru asked.

"Why, exactly what you ordered me to do. Trying to find new ways to enhance ninja physical skills and terrain adaptability."

"This is not what I had in mind!" Orochimaru snapped, pointing to the glass tubes and the unconsciousness purple-haired girl.

"No, but it's even better. You see, I found a lost boy some time ago who has every unusual blood, with so much potential to be unleashed. Maybe even the first of a new kekkei genkai. Apparently he can actually shapeshift during times of bloodlust or stress, and to make it even better, with the right method, his blood can give those powers to others as well." Amachi told Orochimaru.

Orochimaru admitted to himself the idea was an interesting one, but something about this bothered him. "And you experimented on children too? How could you?"

Amachi shrugged. "Well, in order for it to work, the blood must be injected into the jugular, and if the subject survives the transfer, a mark appears there. For children the survival rate appears to be the highest, so I had to work with young ones. But I've been running kind of low, so I'm glad you brought me some more."

Now Orochimaru was mad. "Don't even think about it! I'm trying to give these children a bright future, not one where others think less of them for whatever reason they have." Kogyoku and Sango got in front of the kids defensively and became anaconda-sized.

Amachi was unintimidated. "Don't you think they'd be better off with the gift I can give them? Think about it. A secondary source of chakra if the primary one runs dangerously low. And if the user gets close to death, a second stage is activated and the user gets the ability to transform into a second form, useful for terrain handling and combat purposes. What ninja wouldn't want that?"

You can't force this onto kids that don't want it." The sannin replied.

The researcher shrugged. "They're children. They don't know what they want."

"I don't think I can let you keep doing this Amachi." Orochimaru stated as he pulled out some explosive tags. He didn't light them since that might put the children in danger, but he did show them off.

"Guess I'll have to show you how effective my work can be." Amachi said as he swiftly pulled out a syringe and threw it at the group. Before anyone could block it, the needle struck Anko in her jugular, making her scream.

"Anko-chan!" Everyone yelled as Orochimaru pulled the syringe out. Anko kept yelling and squirming on the floor.

"It hurts! It hurts!" The beginnings of the curse mark started to form around the puncture wound like a burn.

While they were distracted with Anko's agony, Amachi took the opportunity to get several more syringes and hit all the remaining children in the jugular with great aim. All of them fell screaming and writhing as their blood burned internally. Kogyoku and Sango wrapped around the long-nosed researcher and began constricting him tightly. Orochimaru stood in front of him. "Why the hell did you do that? And while we're at it, how were you able to?"

"Well, you needed to be convinced my work has value. As for how, well, I guess you and your snake friends were just too slow to do anything about it."

"Forgive us Orochimaru-sama. We were more focused on Anko-chan than the others for that brief moment." Sango said regretfully.

"I was at fault too for that. Amachi, tell me you have an antidote for this."

Amachi tried to hold in a laugh but failed and laughed loudly. "Now why the hell would I create an antidote for a power up? What do you think I am? Stupid?"

Orochimaru was really disgusted with this man. Long ago, he thought he was rather insightful and quite possibly capable of opening new frontiers for Konoha's ninjas. Apparently that was true, but he used it for the wrong reasons. Had he been doing this to willing subjects or adults, Orochimaru might not have minded to much. In time he would have probably used this procedure to give the village's shinobi an extra edge against their enemies. But the sannin had several children under his care and anybody who tried to hurt them was automatically an enemy.

"Kogyoku, Sango, finish him off." The two snakes hissed happily and tightened their grip on him more and more until he was crushed thinner than a used up toothpaste tube.

Orochimaru checked on all the kids at once, first noting they had stopped screaming, just breathing deeply and asleep. On each one of their neck bases was a curse mark, three tomoes inside a circle. Even Naruto had one. 'Damn, I thought maybe the kyuubi's chakra could filter it out of his system. Wonder why it didn't.' Truth was, at this point of time all the kyuubi's chakra could do for Naruto was heal physical wounds and nothing more. That would change as he got older, but for now to do more would be dangerous to his health. So the curse mark was there to stay.

Orochimaru felt there was only one thing he could do here. With the two snake's help, he pulled all the children, even the extra girl, back outside and went in to recover any info regarding this curse mark before setting the place on fire with explosive tags. He didn't see any of Amachi's assistants inside, and while that bothered him, he figured it was probably for the best. Less trouble to deal with. He then got them back on the boat and headed back for the mainland.

* * *

Night came and Anko was the first to recover, sitting upright around a campfire. She looked around to see Orochimaru sitting on a log watching over them all with Kogyoku and Sango, and also the new girl who seemed to be awake already. "What happened, Jiisan?"

"It's a long story Anko-chan. I'll tell you when the others wake up too so I don't have to repeat it." Orochimaru told her, then offered her a piece of dango he bought in the last town. "Want some?" She eagerly took it, but ate slowly.

"Hi, I'm Isaribi." The new girl said to Anko. "Sorry you had to get the seal too."

"Seal?" Anko asked, then her eyes darted to the mark on the other purple-headed girl's shoulder. Anko tenderly touched her shoulder and felt the flesh was soft and painful to touch, making her pull her fingers back and wince. "What happened to me?"

Orochimaru sighed. "I'm sorry Anko-chan, but that man, gave you something bad and I don't know how to get rid of it."

"H... how bad?"

"Bad enough that some people could call you a monster for it."

Anko shrugged. "They already do that. What else is new?"

"Well, according to what I've been reading, this mark gives you a chakra boost when you run low, but it means you're more likely to act violently when that happens. And there's a second stage involved if you almost die, giving you the ability to transform into some kind of creature when you need to." Orochimaru explained.

Anko blinked in surprise. "And there's nothing you can do about it?"

He shook his head. "Maybe I can get Jiraiya to seal it's effects, but I haven't seen him in years so I can't promise that."

Anko then looked over Naruto and the others, who started showing signs of waking up soon. "Then I'll use it to defend my otouto. If I'm stuck with this, might as well give it a good use."

"Anko-chan I wouldn't..." Orochimaru started to protest, then thought it over, and slowly nodded. "If that's what you want."

The others woke up and Orochimaru explained to them what happened and what they involuntarily acquired. Not surprisingly, they were unhappy, but they had the same thoughts about it as Anko did. Orochimaru hoped that they wouldn't come to regret this later on.


	6. Plans

Ch. 6 Plans

About three weeks after leaving Konoha, Orochimaru had finally reached his destination: a hidden underground chamber in Land of Rice Paddies. In that time he had kept a careful eye on all the children with him, still upset at what had happened to them in Land of the Sea. The only reason it happened at all was because he hadn't been expecting it the first time and he was occupied the next time. Another reason might be that the syringes Amachi used were designed like senbon needles more than standard syringes with automatic injection features built in, and he did always have great aim when it came to projectiles. Orochimaru cursed himself, wishing he had only been more prepared for the long-nosed researcher to actually try something. But he wasn't, and now all the kids in his care might suffer from it.

So far he hadn't seen anything negative from what he dubbed the curse mark outside an occasional brief flash of pain. He wondered if that was meant to encourage the person to use it or just a nasty side effect. The scroll with all the info regarding it didn't say much about it. It did however come with several sealed up samples of the blood-based formula used to give one the mark and abilities. Orochimaru kept it around in the hopes of someday reverse engineering it and ridding the kids of it. Or at the very least, have a better understanding of how it works.

For the time being he ignored that and went inside the hide-out. Since it was quite dark underground he used a fire jutsu to light the candles left on the walls to illuminate the place better. "This place reminds me of those haunted houses you see in movies." Kabuto stated.

"Why did we come here?" Kurenai asked, eyes darting around as if looking for something.

"A long time ago, me and my teammates found this abandoned place during an A-rank mission that was taking longer than we expected it too. We used it to hide ourselves and ambush our enemies. Afterwards, we agreed this would be our secure location to come to if we needed to go somewhere private. So only Jiraiya or Tsunade would think to come here." The one adult present explained.

"Are they coming?" Naruto asked, not knowing who they were or his connection to them.

Orochimaru sadly sighed. "No, they aren't. They don't know I'm here and I'd rather they don't find out yet. If I saw either of them soon I'd be very mad at them."

"How come?" All the children asked.

Orochimaru wasn't going to like this, but knew it needed to be done. "Naruto, I wasn't supposed to be the one to watch over you all these years. Jiraiya and Tsunade were."

Naruto looked surprised. "Then why didn't they?"

Orochimaru shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure. I personally think Jiraiya just didn't want to juggle you and his work so he chose his work first, and Tsunade was more interested in doing her own thing than taking some responsibility. If they have other reasons I'd love to hear them, but that's all I can assume for now." Several of the kids frowned at hearing this, but Naruto just hung his head. "You okay, Naruto?"

Said blonde lifted his head showing off a grin, with some small tears in the corners of his eyes. "I'm fine Jiisan. At least you're here for me."

"Always will kid. You can count on it."

"How long we gonna be here?" Hinata asked.

"Not too long. Just long enough for me to check up an old idea of mine and see if we can go ahead with it." Orochimaru told them with a grin, making them all feel better.

* * *

Later that evening, Orochimaru was seated at an old desk looking over some old papers he brought with him, with some storage scrolls next to him as well. Anko, Kurenai, Isaribi, Kabuto, and Yamato were currently looking around the place to get a better feel for it and make sure there were no unwelcome surprises there, with Kogyoku tagging along in case there were some. Hinata was currently taking a nap with Sango curled up to be the pillow, resting peacefully. Orochimaru was glad to see that since while the girl had been healing she kept having bad dreams, presumably about what had hurt her in the first place. Naruto was awake and trying to see what Orochimaru was interested in at the moment. "Whatcha doing Jiisan?"

"Going over something I haven't in a long time."

"Like what?"

"You probably wouldn't understand. It's boring grown-up stuff." The snake sannin answered.

"Then why are you doing it if it's boring?" Naruto innocently asked.

"Boring for you, not me. And hopefully, not the daimyo of this country either." Orochimaru corrected.

"Why?"

"Let's just say that if he agrees with me, then we'll be secure for years to come." Orochimaru explained as best he could without revealing too much. "I can't tell you more than that, sorry." Naruto looked upset but didn't argue, and decided to just pace around until the others returned.

* * *

"Excuse me, Daimyo-sama, but you have some visitors." A guard at the place of the daimyo of Land of Rice Paddies told the ruler as he entered the throne room.

"Visitors? I'm not expecting anyone. Who are they?" The ruler of the country asked. He was tall, thin, with brown hair beginning to grey, and a small beard, wearing a black royal kimono with a pattern for a rice farm sewn onto it.

"The one adult present claims to be one of the sannin of Land of Fire. His physical description matches that of the snake summoner and the fact that he has talking snakes with him adds to that confirmation."

The daimyo rubbed his chin in thought. 'Interesting, a sannin wishes to see me. Wonder what for.' He then caught something else. "Why did you say 'the one adult present'?"

"He has several children in his care Daimyo-sama. Seven to be exact." The guard answered.

"Why would he bring children here?"

"I don't know, but I feel that may be part of whatever he seeks an audience with over."

The daimyo thought over it some more. "Very well, let them enter. Tell the guards they should keep watch but not overly hostile until any threat is apparent." The guard nodded and left the chamber. A moment later Orochimaru entered, followed by Naruto, Hinata, Isaribi, Anko, Kurenai, Kabuto, Yamato, and the two snakes. "Sannin-san I presume?" The ruler asked.

Orochimaru nodded. "My name is Orochimaru, for your convenience."

"If you don't mind, may I ask for you to remove your summons, as they may be viewed as a threat here."

Orochimaru shook his head. "That is non-negotiable Daimyo-sama. These two are here to protect my two godchildren and their friends, and I'm not getting rid of their security while in new territory. As long as nobody moves to strike these children, you have nothing to fear from these two serpents."

The daimyo seemed reluctant but later nodded. "With that out of the way, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit from one of the most esteemed shinobi in the known world?"

"To be direct, I wish to start a hidden village here."

The ruler flinched in surprise, never expecting to hear something like that. "A hidden village? Here? Don't get me wrong; I've been hoping to get one started myself so all the shinobi clans here have a place to live and practice their art. But why would you be interested in such a thing? Especially considering the sannin are connected to Konoha and Land of Fire?"

"I've wiped my hands off that place, and wish to have a new home for those in my care. Konoha is not fit for them. And since I'm more familiar with this country than any other, besides Land of Fire obviously, I could easily call this one my next home. Also, I don't think I could join a hidden village that already exists without alerting Konoha to my presence and thus undoing all my efforts to guard these kids." Orochimaru explained.

The daimyo looked confused. "You make it sound like Konoha is a threat to these kids. I find that hard to believe."

Orochimaru gave a brief look over the kids, who looked up at him, staying silent as they had been told to do. He then turned back to the ruler of the country. "Daimyo-sama, what would you do if I told you each one of these children, to some degree, some more than others, had their human rights violated?"

The daimyo looked mortified. "Violated? Someone would do such a thing to children?" He then took a deep breath and closed his eyes, recomposing himself, before opening them again and clasping his hands together. "You have my attention. Now explain."

Orochimaru grinned lightly, but then lost it as he began his story. "Well, to start off lightly, a man named Danzo that I knew back in Konoha helped fund research to improve shinobi abilities. Apparently that was a front for involuntarily subjecting orphans, and even kids with families if he could get away with it, to tests in attempts to give them kekkei genkais. Most did not survive, but I have three survivors here with me." Kabuto and Yamato raised their hands to indicate themselves, but Kurenai did not. He patted her on the shoulder though. "This girl here so far was not actually used yet, but next in line for a test. As far as we can tell that is. It is possible he may have done something to her and she blocked out the memory." Kurenai looked frightened now.

Orochimaru then got behind Isaribi. "This girl here was kept captive inside a glass tube in an island lab where a man I once thought of as a respectable colleague did the same thing as Danzo, just more specialized. Making me suspect the two were in cahoots. Anyway, he forced a potentially lethal ability onto her, and did the same with all the children here. I wasn't expecting him to do something like that so I couldn't react quick enough to stop him."

"Pardon me, Orochimaru-sama." The daimyo interjected. "Are you telling me all these children had a kekkei genkai forced onto them?" The sannin nodded. "How bad is this kekkei genkai that's gotten you worked up?"

"According to what I've looked over, it's not entirely without benefit, but also not without cost. Once acquired, the victim is in a lot of pain for several days, with the majority of the pain lasting only four minutes. After that, it's more like a pulled muscle that won't let you forget it's there. And it sort of enhances one's berserker tendencies when in a tight spot, meaning they may put themselves in unnecessarily risky situations."

The daimyo thought it over. "Is that the worst of this? Because, forgive me if I'm wrong, this doesn't sound as tragic as you make it out to be."

The older kids frowned at hearing this, but Orochimaru held out his arms. "Settle down guys, he doesn't know the whole story yet." He then turned to look at the daimyo again. "Well, onto a larger issue before I drop a bombshell, this girl here," indicating Hinata, "was kidnapped from her home at night and for some reason village security couldn't stop it." He suspected that was his fault for setting two fires that night. "I rescued her, and found signs of physical abuse from before the kidnapping took place. She doesn't like to talk about it, but from what I've heard her family is full of child-beaters."

The daimyo silently gasped and looked to Hinata for confirmation or denial. Her frightened, crying face trying to hide in the adult's legs said enough for him. "And what else? You indicated something worse."

Orochimaru sighed. "Here's where Konoha gets bad as a whole, daimyo-sama. You see, legally I only have one godchild, this young girl," indicating Anko, "but since this boy's godparents," indicating Naruto, "were too busy enjoying themselves to take responsibility for him, I volunteered to watch him until they decided to shape up and take responsibility. For three years, this young boy has been picked on by no less than 90% of Konoha. I'd say 80%, but that would be giving them the benefit of the doubt and I can't do that anymore."

"Sometimes kids get bullied by other kids. That's natural." The daimyo commented.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. "I didn't say he was victimized by _just_ kids. I said the whole city. Adults too."

If the daimyo had been holding anything just then, he would have dropped it. "Adults... bullying a three year old? Why? How?"

"For how, they pretty much had an 'attack on sight' mindset regarding him. They wouldn't kill him, probably because I got there in time to stop it. And when I was there, they would treat him like he was Kami's biggest mistake, and sometimes my presence wouldn't deter them. I haven't left him unguarded by myself or one of these snakes in about two years because they'll take any chance to make him wish he was never born."

"There were times I did." Naruto quietly mumbled, but everyone heard it and the hurt in his voice. Hinata and Anko, the closest ones to him, hugged him to make him feel better. Isaribi wanted to, but didn't see any room for her to get a hold of him.

Orochimaru stayed silent for a brief moment after that, but then continued. "Anyway, the townspeople, mostly civilians but some shinobi too, several deemed 'honorable' by the populace, took every chance they could to make Naruto's life hell. They did the same thing to my first godchild too, just because she's associated with him. And the adults in the village told their children to stay away from both of them or hurt them as much as possible, thinking kids could get away with what the parents couldn't."

The daimyo scowled. "And what possible explaination could they have for this atrocious behavior?"

"I can't say it in front of the kids as they are not ready to handle that information yet." Orochimaru told him, then turned to the kids. "If you all would like to go outside and see the courtyards for a moment you can now." They thanked him and went outside, with Kogyoku and Sango following.

Before Orochimaru could speak up, the daimyo did. "On second thought, it doesn't matter. There is no excuse good enough to justify what you've just told me."

"Daimyo-sama, what I'm about to say is Konoha's deepest secret, one that's illegal to talk about. But since I'm not a Konoha nin anymore their laws don't apply to me so I can tell you and the kids when they can handle it. You see, our previous hokage sealed the rampaging kyuubi no kitsune inside the blonde boy, and almost everyone holds him accountable for what the fox did three years ago."

The daimyo's hands trembled in rage, and then he stood up and called for a messenger. "Inform everyone that we will no longer hire Konoha shinobi for any work. If they ask why, tell them I've reason to question their rationality, and say no more on the subject." The messenger nodded and left.

"So you'll help us?" Orochimaru asked.

"Tell me more about your proposal for a new hidden village." The daimyo said with a grin.


	7. Preparing

Ch. 7 Preparing

In a flat valley in Land of Rice Paddies, construction began on a secret project. Well, that depends on how one defines the word 'secret'. In one way it was no secret at all, as anyone could see the construction taking place if they happened to be in the area. It was simply a new town being built to provide homes for a growing population and maybe provide more farmland too. Nothing out of the ordinary except some defensive walls and guarded passageways in and out of the area, but those were deemed needed to make it more secure until completion.

But on the other hand, the reason of the construction, along with half of it, were completely unknown to anyone outside the country, and many inside it too. Yes, providing homes was a big part of why this town was being built. But these were homes for shinobi, and no one not involved would suspect a thing. And that was exactly what the planners wanted.

Orochimaru and the daimyo of Land of Rice Paddies stood in front of a completed building looking over everything and their layout designs. The kids were back at the palace being watched over by the snakes and some trustworthy caretakers. So the sannin was free to be away for the moment.

"Things are looking good so far, aren't they Orochimaru-sama?" The daimyo asked.

He nodded, smiling. "Yes, indeed they are. I'm glad I keep that little pet project of mine around now." Back when Orochimaru had been an academy student, one of the assignments had been for all the kids to design a hidden village if they were the ones who made it. His did well, but overall none of the class had the right idea regarding what was essential for a hidden village. Some students had been frivilous and designed a metropolis designed more fit for civilains, while others missed out on several details mandatory for making the village be considered hidden or operable. After the assignment was over, he kept the design with him and spent years trying to improve upon it, mostly to satisfy his own curiousity and creative urges. Now he had a chance to actually do something with the idea.

He was no architect, but a real one with shinobi experience would be proud of his concept. On the surface, the whole village would look like a completely normal civilian village. Walls would be around for defense against threats, both natural and man-made, but that wasn't suspicious since conflict was common and several civilian cities had that feature now. There would be suburbs, apartment complexes, hospitals, hotels, schools, dojo's and gyms, parks, shopping centers, and entertainment centers. A casino and a public bathing area were added in too, as sort of an omage to the other two sannin when Orochimaru initially worked on the design, and saw no real reason to take them out.

But under the surface, that was the beauty of all this. Underneath the city, and under the sewage system too, were secret chambers, bunkers, and hallways for shinobi to learn and train in. There was even a hidden academy and several training centers scattered everywhere, each designed to help in a particular area. Some in taijutsu, some in kenjutsu, some in ninjutsu, and some in genjutsu. This way, the shinobi of this village could train to their hearts content without fear of someone from the outside ever finding them or even knowing what was going on. The dojos could be used too to get them used to training above ground, as long as they didn't use ninjutsu there. There was also an idea that the shinobi here only wear their hitai-ate on the job, preferably out of town, rather than walk around in public so visitors wouldn't notice. With this in mind, it would be the one true hidden shinobi village, by virtue of being hidden in plain sight.

The daimyo had been satisfied with the conceptual design and provided what he considered the perfect location for the village. A flat stretch of land big enough to hold Konoha if it had to, surrounded by mountains to the north and northeast. A gorge with a rapid river bordered the complete west and a forest provided the remaining boundary. The mountains were not completely impassable, but a route being worked on would make it more convenient. A bridge was being constructed over the gorge and two routes were being paved thru the forest. Since the village was not trying to look like a hidden shinobi village, they needed these routes to make it more believeable. They were being made in a compass fashion to make them easier to monitor though should something go amiss.

"Construction might take some time since we aren't letting too many in on this." The daimyo commented. So far the only help they had were from construction companies and shinobi with masonry skills who intended to settle down here when finished. "If we could let another village in on this, then maybe things can go faster and we could have a ready ally."

"Reasonable, but who? And do I really need to say Konoha is not an option?" Orochimaru responded.

"Of course not. I was thinking more along the lines of Taki, Hoshi, or Kusa." The daimyo told him.

Orochimaru arched an eyebrow. "Them rather than Suna or Kiri or something?"

"Well, the five great shinobi villages might have a lot of power backing them, but the lesser ones are more likely to bond with a fellow small village. Allying ourselves with them will make forming alliances with other villages easier too. And they're eager for business since they're often overlooked by clients in favor of the bigger ones."

The sannin nodded. "Maybe, but having one of the major villages help might be a good thing. Especially if we need the manpower against Konoha."

This time the daimyo arched an eyebrow. "Do you intend to go to war with your old home?"

"At the moment no. However, if they happen to discover my group is here, Naruto-kun and Anko-chan in particular, I'm sure they will cause trouble over it. And I'd rather be prepared for the worst. Suna would be the best option as they're the closest. Iwa a close second but I'd rather not risk their involvement either if I can help it."

"Because of young Naruto am I right?" The daimyo asked, having been told about Naruto's heritage to explain his situation better.

"Yes. Until I'm certain of their overall attitude towards Minato, I can't verify if they would be a threat or not. Most likely they are since Minato did not die that long ago and one could not ask without raising suspicions they would look into. It might be years before anyone can." Orochimaru stated.

"Reasonable." The daimyo mused. "So shall we stick with Suna and maybe one or two of the smaller villages?"

"Let's see how much we can do on our own first." The sannin suggested. "Besides, the underground network has to be completed first and it's best if only our forces has a good feel for that area. What we really need are some established clans to settle down here. Maybe some civilians and their kids will be willing to learn to become shinobis but some existing clans and kekkei genkai will give us some credibility when we make ourselves known."

"Why not go around other places to find people and families that have no where to go? Not fugitives that would sell you out, but desperate people with something to prove and willing to settle down somewhere. You know, like you were when you came to me."

Orochimaru thought about it, and shrugged. "Why not?"

* * *

Orochimaru later made it back to the palace and gathered the kids together. "Okay everyone, I'm going to be going on a trip for a bit to try and find us more allies. You all will be staying here, with Kogyoku and Sango watching over you with Daimyo-sama. Do as they say." Everyone nodded, and he handed Anko something that looked like a paper bomb. "Hopefully nothing bad will happen, but just in case something does happen, put some blood on this. That'll summon Manda to protect you guys, but it'll only work once. Do not use it for anything short of an emergency, got it?" Anko nodded and pocketed the paper. "Good. I'll be back as soon as I can. Stay safe."

With that, the snake sannin left for parts unknown.

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Kabuto asked after the adult who watched over them these past few weeks left.

"I guess we train. Any better ideas?" Anko asked.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Kurenai wondered, gingerly touching her curse mark. Ever since they got it, the kids were afraid to train, thinking it would control them if they trained.

"We've gotta learn to deal with it sooner or later. It's not like they're just gonna vanish with soap and water, Nai-chan." Anko replied.

"And if anything happens the rest can stop them right?" Naruto asked.

"Exactly otouto." Anko stated.

Rather than keep up the discussion, Yamato just went right to doing push-ups, and Naruto, Hinata, and Isaribi joined in. Anko joined too, and after a moment so did Kabuto and Kurenai. Nothing bad happening so far regarding their marks. And hopefully it would stay that way.

* * *

Orochimaru had been traveling for two days now, not entirely sure just where he should be going. He couldn't go right to an established ninja village and ask if anyone there wanted to move. Clans weren't allowed to do just up and do that for security reasons. And he couldn't go up to bandits and rogues making them offers since their very nature was based more on greed than loyalty. The best idea he had was going to civilian towns and asking if there were any families with shinobi potential that wanted to take the chance to use it.

So now here he was, in a random town in Land of Fire, taking a break and having a drink before going out again. "Why are so many ideas easier said than done?" He asked himself.

"I've been trying to figure that out myself." Another guy's voice said behind him.

Orochimaru immediately recognized it, and slowly turned around to see Jiraiya, along with Tsunade and a brunette he didn't recognize. "Oh, hi dobe. What brings you here?"

"That's my line teme." Jiraiya told him.

"Orochimaru, we came to help out. That's what teammates do." Tsunade said gently.

"A little late don't ya think?" He paused to take another gulp. "Hey Tsunade, you actually took time off from your eternal binge to see me? I don't know if I should be flattered or worried."

"I heard from sensei what happened and I got ahold of Tsunade here. We figured you might want some friendly company." Jiraiya explained.

Orochimaru arched an eyebrow. "What exactly did sensei say? In _his_ words."

Jiraiya cleared his throat. "He said that you had a tragic lose and took it rather unwell, and just vanished. He also told me to tell you that he hopes you'll come back when you can get yourself sorted out."

Orochimaru glared. "That's it? Word for word?" Jiraiya nodded, and Orochimaru clenched his fists. "That is one of the most apathetic things I've ever heard."

"We're sorry for you Orochi." Tsunade butted in. "We heard you lost your goddaughter and your work to some maniac. But you shouldn't take it out on sensei or the village."

"And I wouldn't, if both had done more to help Anko-chan and Naruto instead of just--"

"Wait! Did you just say 'Naruto'?" Jiraiya asked, caught offguard.

The snake sannin nodded. "Yeah, Minato's son. The kid _you two_ were supposed to watch over but never did. Who did you think was watching over him all this time?"

The toad and slug sannins exchanged a worried look before turning back to their teammate. "Umm... Orochimaru, sensei told me he was killed just after the sealing. Couldn't handle the strain."

Orochimaru wanted to puke, and it had nothing to do with the alcohol in his system. "He told you Naruto died?"

Jiraiya nodded. "Yeah and then I told Tsunade. You mean... he didn't?"

Orochimaru shook his head. "Nope, he's still alive. Not that Konoha wants him to be. I faked his and my goddaughter's death so I could get them away from that child-beating shitstain of a village."

Tsunade started to cry. "My godson is alive? Can I please see him?"

Orochimaru thought about it. "I'll let you two see him, under a few conditions. First, you can't breathe a word of what I'm doing to Sarutobi, period." They nodded without a hint of protest, even Tsunade's assistant. "Second, you need to help me find some trustable ninjas and clans to make allies with and are able to move about, so I can protect the kids better."

"For the record, I learned that the current mizukage is about to issue a kekkei genkai purge of Kiri. More like some kind of genocide if you ask me." Jiraiya said quietly.

Orochimaru smirked. "Then if we get there first and offer them solace, we can get the people and numbers I need. Good, so let's head out tomorrow for Kiri."

"But I want to see Naruto." Tsunade protested.

"You waited three years, you can wait another week or so. I'm getting these shinobi first so Naruto won't be such a target anymore."

"You make it sound like horrible things have happened to him." Tsunade's apprentice commented.

The look on the pale sannin's face disturbed them all. "I'll tell you more about that tomorrow. That way none of you will be unable to sleep tonight. So, are you gonna help me or not?"


	8. Allies

_Oh, I forgot to mention this in the last chapter, but here Shizune is about eleven years old here._

Ch. 8 Allies

The three sannin along with Shizune had reached Land of Water, with no intention of staying there for long. They would get this little task over with, hopefully with good results, and go where they really wanted to be: Land of Rice Paddies and with Naruto. Jiraiya and Tsunade had heard what had happened in their absence and were ashamed of themselves, even though they were not entirely at fault for their absence. Still, that didn't make it any easier on their consciousnesses.

When they woke up the morning after a chance reunion with Orochimaru, Jiraiya and Tsunade were all ears about what had happened to Naruto. Shizune was too, even though she never met the boy, just his mother thru Tsunade. None of them liked what they heard.

--Flashback--

"Okay Orochimaru, tell us everything you wouldn't last night about Minato's son." Tsunade demanded first thing in the morning. The three sannin were seated in a hotel room at the moment on one of the beds.

"Well, where to start? Naruto's alive but has been hurt repeatedly his whole life. Since you two weren't there to watch over him I took your place and just couldn't take it anymore and took him away from there. I faked his death to ensure no one could come after him."

"Why don't you give us the unsummarized version?" Jiraiya asked.

"I will, but first, you two have some things I want you to tell me too." Orochimaru insisted. "You first Jiraiya. Even if sensei told you Naruto has been dead all these years, why is it in three years you didn't stop to visit me in the village? Even to chat? If you had then you'd see the truth then. What excuse do you have for not doing that?"

Jiraiya tried to steel himself, but slumped and sighed wearily. "I wish I could give you one, but I can't. You know I've never been one for visiting just for pleasantries. I just figured you were content in what you were doing and interrupting you just for a quick 'hi' didn't seem worth it. One question though, if sensei told us Naruto was dead, what has he been telling you about us?"

"Nothing about Tsunade except he couldn't get a response from her, but he said you were prioritizing your work and personally felt Naruto was better off with me anyway." Orochimaru explained.

"Why would he lie so much?" Shizune asked.

Orochimaru shook his head slowly. "I have no idea. He did several things to help Naruto out, but why would he set us up like this?"

"I just wish I knew. I would have done something about it." Tsunade said quietly, full of regret.

"There was little you could do that I couldn't Tsunade, except heal him better. And with how he got hurt, he would have needed it." The snake sannin mentioned. Tsunade was afraid to ask how bad the damage was, but luckily she didn't have to. "He's been burned, stabbed, cut, hit with rocks, punched, kicked, almost drowned or thrown off buildings. All more than once, and all within the first three years of his life."

Tsunade teared up and buried her head in her knees. "I've ever heard of anything so monstrous in my life and I'm a veteran shinobi. That's it. I'm officially and completely severing all ties to Konoha from here on out."

"I'm going to confront sensei about this and most likely do the same thing." Jiraiya added forcefully.

Inspiration struck Orochimaru just then. "Actually Jiraiya, I've got an idea for you. Y'see, I'm working on a certain project to help my kids and could probably use Tsunade to check over them regularly. You can too, but maybe you could also play a part for our sensei."

"Let me guess, you want me to be a double agent." Jiraiya stated.

"Exactly." The snake sannin answered. "Whatever info you give sensei, you give us too. And this way, we can find out if Konoha's doing anything suspicious."

"For example?" Jiraiya asked for clarification.

"Well, like whether or not anyone's trying to find Naruto, or maybe they have hostile intentions towards the new hidden village. Anything that could prove more risk for Naruto later on."

"I agree, it's a good plan." Tsunade claimed.

Jiraiya sighed. "Alright, it won't be easy, but I'll try. But if I don't like what sensei says when I ask why he lied then the deal's off."

Orochimaru nodded. "Well, I think that's enough for now. I'm going to be heading towards Land of Water soon. Wanna come along?"

--End flashback--

The trip had taken them a while, but they reached their destination. Jiraiya was infuriated the whole time while Tsunade appeared downright depressed. Orochimaru had a good idea why for both. Jiraiya felt betrayed by Sarutobi and pissed at himself for never taking the time to confront Naruto's status from someone else. Even if he did trust the old man, he probably should have confirmed this info with another. So much more could have been done on Naruto's behalf if Jiraiya had known he was alive. And as for Tsunade, she felt like a failure to Minato and Kushina since she hadn't even tried to do anything after Jiraiya came to her with grim news three years ago. She had gone to great lengths to care for Dan's niece Shizune, but hadn't gone to be with Kushina when the due date was near and thus could have helped him as planned. Tsunade felt just plain horrible over that.

Finding their way to Kiri wasn't too hard for them, mostly because they had been there before for their own chuunin exams years ago. Not to mention the fog was a dead giveaway they were heading in the right direction. When they got to the edges of the village, they hid in some trees rather than just enter. Shizune was currently hiding in a small den in the ground they could get back to later. Jiraiya summoned two small toads. "You two check out the area. Let me know if you spot anything hinting to killing a lot of the residents." The toads departed and entered the misty village.

"You sure it'll be that obvious?" Tsunade asked.

"You can't have whole clans be slaughtered and keep it a secret." Jiraiya commented.

They waited for a while, but not as long as they initially expected when the toads came back. "We saw a ton of people tied to posts being kept in some sort of prison yard, as if they were going to be executed. Most of the looked unconscious and none smelled dead, but we couldn't get close enough to confirm that with the guards around there."

Jiraiya shared a look with his teammates. "Not very discreet. I know this village has taken a turn towards being more vicious lately, but I figured they wouldn't make a spectacle out of something like this."

"Well let's go see them ourselves and make them an offer." Orochimaru suggested.

"There are guards posted just so you know, so it won't be that simple." The toad told them.

"We've got our ways." Orochimaru commented with a grin.

When the sannin snuck towards the wall surrounding the prison yard, Tsunade summoned two slugs and had them approach the nearest guards. Once the guards saw the gastropods, they spewed some nonlethal toxins at them, knocking them unconscious for about two hours. Tsunade and her slugs repeated this one more time on another pair of guards to make their entry less noticeable. Once they felt confident, the three shinobi sneaked inside.

There they saw numerous people of various ages and genders tied up like they were going to be crucified. Some of them even had blindfolds on, implying they had doujutsus. They were even a few children and at least one pregnant woman tied up here, showing that the current mizukage was completely apathetic to them all. None of them looked dead, but few of them even looked conscious now.

"Dear kami." Tsunade gasped. "Why are they doing such a thing?"

"For some reason, the mizukage began spreading anti-kekkei genkai propaganda here, claiming it's a crime of nature and a sign of demonic heritage. Considering I once heard that kekkei genkai's originated from jinchuuriki's I could understand that, but they've gone so far as to make it a witch hunt here. Personally, I believe that the mizukage is intimidated by them all." Jiraiya quietly thought out loud.

"Well, I don't care about that. Let's see if they're willing to hear us out." Orochimaru stated. He then carefully and quietly approached one of the conscious prisoners, followed by his teammates.

"Who are you? What do you want?" The prisoner quietly asked, more out of fear than anything else. This one was a man with a white shirt, a navy blue hakama, and no footwear on. His hair was blue-tinted black and cut really short.

"I'm here to make all you an offer. Take it and you'll live like you always have been, refuse and you'll stay here." Orochimaru answered.

"What are you, a devil? Like I really have an option when it comes to that. Just what's in it for you?"

"I'm creating a new hidden village, and hoping to find some people to live in it with skills to offer. I'm sure at least some people here would rather live there than die here." The snake sannin told him.

"Wait, did you just say you could save us?" A woman with long brown hair who looked like she was playing dead suddenly spoke up. The sannin nodded. "Please, take me and my daughter out of here. I don't want to die."

A few other voices rose and announced their desires to flee, all keeping quiet to avoid unwanted attraction from the guards. "Okay, we'll cut you all down from these posts. Those that want to escape with us get behind us, and those that would rather stay here can. Fair enough?" Jiraiya asked. There were no objections.

With the help of some shadow clones, the sannin were able to untie everyone in the prison yard. Apparently none of the captives decided it was better to remain in Kiri and risk delaying execution so all two hundred and fourteen prisoners unanimously decided to become citizens of the newest shinobi village in the Land of Rice Paddies. Far away enough to ensure their safety from Kiri's influence, and enough people to make the new village have a good start.

Before the sannin and the prisoners could escape the prisonyard, some of the guards spotted them. Three guards with Kiri kitai-ates stood at the gate brandishing swords. "What the hell is going on here?" One of them shouted.

The first prisoner the sannin spoke to rushed over to these guards and activated his kekkei genkai. Apparently he had one that made his skin become like armor and he had some pent-up rage to release now. Covered entirely in his armor, he punched each one of them and broke their swords as they tried to strike him. His punches were like being hit with a hammer, making all three guards collapse. When done, he turned to face everyone else. "We gotta hurry. No time to be sneaky about it. So let's just scram."

With that, everyone ran out of there like a frightened herd of wildebeests. Tsunade made sure to grab Shizune before they left her behind. More guards were alerted and tried to stop them, but those with active battle-ready kekkei genkai's fought back mercilessly. Orochimaru had many snakes the size of giant anacondas defend them too, Tsunade had some slugs spray various venoms at their antagonizers, and Jiraiya had some small toads spit out oil to make pursuit difficult and to burn anyone unlucky enough to get covered in it.

Oddly, at least one of the guards actually helped them out by showing them the best way out of the village. He was tall with a bandaged face and grey camouflage pants on, and he wielded a large black sword singlehandedly. He was apparently one of the assigned shinobi who disagreed with the mizukages orders and didn't want to stay under his authority anymore. He was also probably one of the few who would join them that didn't actually have a kekkei genkai, but not the only one. A few normal people joined the escape too, fearing the mizukage would target them later on for some reason.

By the stroke of midnight, the three sannin and over two hundred people formerly of Kirigakure had reached the shore and got onto several ships already arranged for them to leave in. Before they could be pursued any further, Orochimaru had some sea snakes take care of anyone who might try to follow them to the mainland. As a result, they reached Land of Rice Paddies undisturbed within four weeks.


	9. Explaining

Ch. 9 Explaining

Once Jiraiya and Tsunade reached the palace of the emperor of Land of Rice Paddies, they both had only one thought cross their minds. 'Where is Naruto?' Orochimaru could tell this and felt he should just let them, but since Naruto was bound to be watched over by one of the two snakes they couldn't just go up to him. So he had to let Sango, and maybe Kogyoku too, know about this before he told the daimyo anything.

After checking a few major rooms, they stumbled upon a shallow pool in one of the yards of the palace and saw two children playing in the shallow end. One was a girl with short black hair that had a bluish tint to it, and the other was a boy that looked exactly like a young Minato with six whiskers. No question who that boy could possibly be.

"Naruto!" Tsunade shouted happily before she darted out to hug the boy she thought had been dead for three years. However, her path became blocked by an orange and black snake the size of a large boa. And it did not look pleased.

"Sango, stand down. These two can see him." Orochimaru told the snake.

"Alright sir, but I shall keep watch over him still." Sango stated.

Orochimaru nodded, showing his two teammates they could proceed. "Just remember guys, he's young and not used to strangers approaching him with good intentions. So you might want to restrain yourselves a bit for now."

Tsunade and Jiraiya tried to keep that in mind while they tepidly approached the pool. The kids obviously saw them and stopped playing to watch the new adults, who could now see the girl was a Hyuuga. "Hi. Are you two Jiisan's friends?" Naruto asked with a polite smile.

Tsunade couldn't restrain herself any longer and reached out to hug him. She got into the pool and went right up to the young boy and enveloped him in a soft embrace, surprising both kids. Fortunately neither screamed or anything like that. Tsunade muttered something unintelligeble, like she was trying to say several things at once to him. She loosened her hold on him when she felt him squirm, but she didn't let him go just yet. When she looked at his face she saw he was worried but not downright panicked. "It's okay Naruto. I'm Tsunade, I'm like your grandmother."

Naruto gasped. "R-really?" He turned to Orochimaru for confirmation, which he gave, then back to Tsunade. "Baa-chan?" Tsunade happily cried at hearing him call her that, and she hugged him tighter and whispered something in his ear.

Jiraiya leaned in, perched on the edge of the pool, and smiled warmly. "Hey there kid. I'm Jiraiya, and I guess that means I'm like your grandfather then."

"Ero-Jii-chan?" Naruto innocently asked, much to Tsunade's amusement and Jiraiya's chagrin. Even Orochimaru chuckled at that, guessing Tsunade must have told the boy to call him that.

"And just where have you two been all this time?" An irritable girl's voice siad from the direction of the other side of the room. Everyone looked to see Anko standing by the doorway inside looking upset with her arms crossed in front of her. It looked like she had just recently shown up to hear this.

"Anko-chan, something wrong?" Orochimaru asked carefully, having a good idea what was on her mind.

"Yes there is Jiisan. These two have been gone all this time, playing around like you said, and now they think they can just go up to him and act like it's no big deal? What gives?"

Fortunately the two visiting sannin could tell this girl was just being protective of Naruto rather than downright telling them off, so they didn't overreact to her claim. Jiraiya stood up and looked at her gently. "We would have helped him out, but the hokage lied to us and told us he died years ago."

Anko's eyebrows arched but her expression didn't overall change. "The old man who helped him out? Why would he do that?"

"That's what I intend to find out." Jiraiya replied. "But just so you know, if he didn't, me and Tsuande here would have come back to Konoha to care for him."

"Are you two married?" The young purple-haired girl asked curiously.

Both sannin looked unsure how best to answer her, while the remaining one covered his grin with his hand. "Actually, we're just friends and prefer things that way." Tsunade managed to make herself say a bit later. "And we're gonna be here for Naruto from now on."

"I have to take off one more thing first." Jiraiya added. "I'll see you guys soon. I don't want to wait anymore to hear what excuse he has for this." He then shushined out of the palace.

"Wouldn't want to be sensei now." Orochimaru commented.

* * *

Two days later, Sarutobi was going thru the paperwork at his desk when Jiraiya invited himself into the office. "Jiraiya? This certainly is a surprise."

"Not as much as the one I got." The toad sannin commented.

"What do you mean?" The old hokage asked.

"Oh, I happened to bump into my old teammate not too long ago. I was surprised to see him away from the village and thought it was a good idea to look into it. Imagine my reaction when he told me why he left."

Sarutobi was perceptive enough to hear what wasn't actually being said here. "I'm sure you've got some questions you want answered."

"No I wanna play golf. Of course I want answers!" Jiraiya responded almost yelling, being sarcastic in the beginning then completely serious at the end. "Let's start with the most obvious one. Why the fuck did you lie to me like that?" Sarutobi paused to inhale from his pipe, making Jiraiya suspect he was buying time to phrase his explanation in an innocent way. 'More likely to cover his own ass.'

"What would you have done if I hadn't?" Sarutobi asked him plainly.

"My duty."

"And neglect your spy network which has kept Konoha well-guarded these past few years? Wouldn't that have endangered Naruto and everyone else here in Konoha?" Sarutobi asked.

"If I had been told the truth, I could have informed Tsunade who would have come back here and watch over him when I couldn't, so I wouldn't have had to drop my work. And Orochimaru would still have been able to help. So all three sannin could have watched over him rather than just one. What do you have to say to that?" Jiraiya countered.

"Tsunade would have had to focus her time at the hospital, and you know she might have drinked a lot in his company and that wouldn't have been a good idea." Sarutobi stated. "Personally I'm amazed Orochimaru found as much time as he did for the boy, but you and Tsunade would have been more pressed with your jobs."

"Maybe you're right for me, but Tsunade would have more likely volunteered than taken a real job. And if anything Naruto would have been a positive influence on her rather than her being a bad one to him."

"And if a child was raised and taught by multiple sannin he would have become a big target by this village's enemies. Naruto was already endangered by being Minato's son, and I needed to keep him out of the spotlight as much as possible."

Jiraiya snorted angrily. "If that was true, then why did you allow knowldege of him being a jinchuuriki to be known to others?"

Sarutobi looked curious. "Just what did Orochimaru tell you? For that matter, why didn't you bring him here with you?"

"This is between you and me sensei. And he told me everything, from the sealing to the council and civilians trying to murder Naruto since literally day one. And here you've been telling me he's been dead all this time. Again, what gives?"

"I told you. I needed to keep him out of our enemies interest."

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes. 'And yet you let him be in the line of danger here. Sounds like you felt someone was going to be hurt no matter what, and better it be Naruto alone than others with him. That's low sensei.' He sighed and turned around. "I need to be scarce for a bit sensei. Also I don't think Tsunade going to ever come back here without wanted to destroy something."

Sarutobi didn't look like he was going to argue against this. "Hope you can understand things better once you think things over some. And I hope you'll still come back at the designated time for your report."

Jiraiya said nothing, just left the room. But before he left Konoha, he had one more stop to make, although he would have to be careful with this part. After all, he couldn't exactly give away the source of his info.

Jiraiya stopped in front of the Hyuuga household and was greeted by the guards. "What business do you have here?"

"I'm Jiraiya of the sannin, and I'd like to speak with the head of the Hyuuga clan regarding some info I've acquired."

The guards remained silent, but one agreed to his request and let him enter. "Wait here. I'll go get them."

Jiraiya waited and a few minutes later am unbranded Hyuuga woman entered carrying a young infant. A girl judging from the pink blanket wrapped around it. "Hello. I'm Hitomi Hyuuga. Sorry my husband couldn't greet you, but he's busy at the moment." Judging from her shadowy eyes and rough voice, this woman was not well.

'So busy that someone who looks like they should be in a hospital needs to speak for them?' Jiraiya thought. "Now Hyuuga-san, as you may know, I'm one of the sannin, and I've got ears listening in many places. One of my sources says that some time ago, about a month, a Hyuuga from the main branch was kidnapped by a Kumo nin and declared dead. Is this true?"

Hitomi started crying and sat down. The baby in her arms started fussing so she cooed to it to calm her down. "Y... yes, that's correct. That was... my daughter Hinata."

'Hmm... Orochimaru told me he saved her, but the girl said this family was full of child-beaters. She said her mother was nice, but dead. She must have been wrong about that part, but is she on the other?' This was the main reason Jiraiya wanted to see the Hyuugas while he was in Konoha. "Ma'am, that same source told me some rather unpleasant news. They said they saw the body, and before they destroyed it per ninja orders, they saw signs of abuse before the kidnap. Implying that someone here hurt her physically, maybe more than once."

Hitomi wanted to throw up at hearing this. "Tha... that can't be."

"Tell me, who all mourned for the girl when she was announced dead?" Jiraiya asked.

"We all held a small ceremony for my daughter!" Hitomi almost yelled, outraged he would ask something like that.

"How many actually shedded tears?" Jiraiya asked.

"I... I don't remember." Hitomi answered, recalling many had dry eyes. Maybe even Hiashi did too, but she refused to believe that.

"I'm sorry if this bothers you, but I've got a reliable story that says this clan has child-beaters in it." Jiraiya told her.

Hitomi glared, then coughed before she could retort. "And just what source is this?"

Jiraiya stood up and led her into a nearby washroom. He was sure no one would bother using the byakugan to peek into an occupied room with a toilet in it, but he did activate a silencing jutsu. "My source is the one watching over the victim herself."

Hitomi gasped. "Are you saying...?"

He nodded. "Yes, your daughter is still alive. She was saved by my teammate who has been watching her since. He won't bring her back since she says everyone here but her mother was mean to her. So I can't bring her here." She looked ready to cry a waterfall's worth of tears. "But if you're up to it, I can take you to her. Problem is I can't promise you can just come back here. Or if you even should, considering you don't seem so fit now."

"I haven't been so good since my second birth. I had to be kept away for a few weeks, and at one point the doctors thought I already died." Hitomi explained.

'I can see why a three year old girl would conclude her mother was already dead then.' The toad sannin thought to himself.

"But... I've only recovered so much. The doctors don't think I have much longer anyway." The Hyuuga matriarch confessed. "Please sir, let me see my daughter one more time. Take me to her. Never mind my health."

"Alright, tell whoever you must you're going out of town to see a talented medic to treat you, and pack up anyway you want with you. Oh, and bring the infant too. You'll understand if I prefer not leaving her with potential child abusers." Jiraiya told her, to which she agreed.

A few minutes later Hiashi and the other Hyuuga were informed of her going on medic leave with Jiraiya's assistance. They were against the new heiress going along, but Hitomi argued that she would still be nursing the baby so this was for the best. Without further argument, and the approval of the hokage, Jiraiya was on his way back to Land of Rice Paddies with two Hyuugas, riding Gamabunta to get there quicker.

* * *

When Jiraiya showed up that night he was greeted by Tsunade and Orochimaru. Gamabunta dispelled after his riders were on the ground. "Tsu-hime, this woman needs medical care now. She's the Hyuuga girl's mother."

"But Hinata-chan said she was dead." Orochimaru said.

"Not quite, but I sure feel like it some days." Hitomi answered wearily.

Tsunade did a quick diagnostic jutsu. "Looks like someone gave you a slow-acting poison to kill you. When did this start?" She didn't wait for an answer before she got started on the antivenom jutsu best for this.

"I think after I gave birth to my second daughter Hanabi." Hitomi answered, feeling a sense of calm from the jutsu.

"Somebody must have wanted you dead but not immediately. Why, I haven't the foggiest. But this should clear things up. Just try not to stay active so soon." Tsunade told her.

"Is my daughter Hinata here? Can I see her please?" Hitomi pleaded.

"I'll take you to her." Orochimaru told her, leading her inside the palace.

A teary reunion between mother and daughter, both thought deceased by the other, followed and was followed by a teary explanation of the physical harm forced onto said daughter by other relatives. Said mother decided not to return to Konoha and would later be considered dead by natural causes in the Hyuuga records, with Hanabi suffering SIDS at same time.

* * *

In time the new hidden village was completed and ready to be inhabited. Orochimaru, who had been declared the ruler of the village, stood on an alcove on a central tower to address the new citizens of the village, both shinobi and civilians mixed together. "Welcome everyone to this new shinobi village. I know we may not seem like much now, but we will soon become a respected force in the ninja world. Why? Because we'll have the elements of surprise and mystery better than any other. And because I'm sure this population will band together to help the rest rather than look for reasons to ostracize each other." Almost every head in the crowd nodded.

"So let us strive to be a grand village rather than a barbaric one, which I'm sure some of you will agree some of the major hidden villages have started becoming." Again some people nodded. "Today a new village has been born. From here on out, this village's name will be Otogakure, the Hidden Sound Village." The name was based on a set of cannons positioned at each of the gates around the village that fired off huge chakra-powered sound attacks at intruders. A fifth one was on top of the kage tower and could be fired in any direction if need be.

Everyone cheered, and hailed Orochimaru as the Shodaime Otokage.


	10. Offers

Ch. 10 Offers

After the first day being in the new village called Oto, the three sannin gathered together with the kids in their care along with Hinata's mother. Orochimaru started the topic of discussion. "Okay, we now have a place to call home and live safely. So now the issue is who lives with who and where."

"My daughters are staying with me." Hitomi claimed assertively, putting her arms around Hinata and Hanabi to emphasize her point. Thanks to Tsunade's help she was as healthy as a horse when by now she would have died for real.

"I don't think anyone was going to contest that. However, I do recommend that if you're going to live here rather than Konoha, that you change your name so we can avoid any problems." Jiraiya told her.

Hitomi nodded. "Sounds fair. I think we'll go with the name Hibiki, in honor of this new village." _(Hibiki means sound, echo)_

Orochimaru smiled. "I think that's quite an appropriate choice. But won't people see your connection to the Hyuugas just by looking at your eyes?"

"I can wear contact lenses to cover that up, and so can my daughters when they're old enough. And maybe we can modify the juuken enough so that others won't connect us that way either."

"Sounds good. Now, as for the other kids, I think we should..." Tsunade suggested.

"Me and otouto will stay with Jiisan then." Anko stated, cutting off the slug sannin before she could say otherwise.

"Now little girl..." Jiraiya started.

Anko gave him an angry look. "No old man. I know you and her are Naruto-chan's grandparents, but you two were more interested in books and beer to notice him. Now you come here and want to act like it never happened? No way. My brother is staying with those I know will care for him."

Orochimaru smiled at how fierce this child could be in the face of two sannin. 'Anko-chan you're going to be quite a force when you're older.' He then cleared his throat to catch her attention. "Actually Anko-chan, what my teammates were going to say is we all reside here in this tower. That way all you kids can be together and we all can watch over you. No fair splitting you guys up is it? Or giving you random people to call parents now?"

Anko's temper deflated. "Yes, Jiisan."

"This will also help us keep an eye on those marks you all have now." Orochimaru added. Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Hitomi had been more than appauled to hear about that little incident. Jiraiya tried to seal it up but couldn't undo it for reasons that escaped him. It was as if it was only part seal, part something else entirely. Tsunade checked as well and her medic ninjustsu did nothing to improve it. If anything her jutsus meant to calm it only aggravated it instead.

"What about Hinata?" Hitomi asked, since her oldest child had the curse mark too.

"There's enough room for the three of you as well. The carpenters sensed several people might reside in this tower so there's enough room here for two dozen." Orochimaru answered.

"You really want to stay here? Just like that?" Kabuto curiously asked.

Hitomi nodded. "You heard what Hinata went thru. How could I make her go back to that? Or Hanabi either to maybe be their new target? Better I stay here and let them think I'm dead or something, even my husband. He wouldn't be able to hide this secret from the Hyuuga council."

"Yay. Hinata-chan staying with us." Naruto cutely cheered, making the adults and the mentioned girl grin.

* * *

Later that night while everyone was asleep, Jiraiya was doing a quick check on Naruto's seal. Just a precaution to make sure no one had done any tampering with it without Orochimaru's knowledge. It was unlikely, but the snake sannin wasn't as good with seals as the toad sannin and he couldn't have watched Naruto 24-7 for three years. So Orochimaru let him check it out, but he, Tsunade, and Anko insisted on sticking around and watching, if nothing but to satisfy their own curiousity and protective sides.

Jiraiya checked Naruto's sedated body over like a surgeon might. He noticed the curse mark darken and try to spread in the meantime, so he put a suppressor seal on it for the meantime. Hopefully it would last. But when he took a direct look at the seal for the kyuubi, Jiraiya's vision darkened for a moment. When he could see again, he saw himself in front of a giant set of cage doors standing in shallow water. He noticed a piece of paper with the kanji for seal on it on the cage, and knew exactly where he was.

"Minato, did you plan this? Or am I here by accident?" The pervy sage asked himself. The sound of breathing and groaning made him stop, and the sight of a large red eye slowly opening made him freeze.

"Who are you?" A tired but strong voice asked him.

Jiraiya was half-tempted to give his trademark introduction, but wisely thought the better of it. "I'm just checking up on the boy. I never expected to come across you."

The Kyuubi shut it's eye again and slowly reopened it, but not as much this time. "If you're here to hurt the kit, you just made a big mistake." The fox growled, almost protectively.

"I'm here to help him. The last thing I want to do is hurt him."

Kyuubi looked at him like it was studying him, and it appeared more alert and awake this time. "How do you intend to help him? Since I'm in him, I'd be affected so I have the right to know."

"I just wanted to make sure the seal hasn't been tampered with or weakened in any way. Some idiots in Konoha could have easily done that if they did anything to him without truly thinking it thru." Jiraiya explained.

The kyuubi groaned, or maybe yawned, it was hard to tell here. "Nothing like that I've seen. From what I recall, the seal was the only part of him those bastards and bitches left alone."

Jiraiya blinked in surprise. "From what you recall?"

"I saw everything thru his eyes. I can't do anything except heal him though, but only so much or he might get poisoned from my chakra. Otherwise I'd have gotten rid of that new mark myself. That one's a bit of a nuisance. From what I can tell, it's some sort of false kekkei genkai, giving him a unique ability but it can't be passed down to his own kits. By the way, go easy on the sedatives, they're only making it worse for him."

"How?" Jiraiya asked.

"I'm no expert like that vixen you're with, but the man who gave the kit that mark said being close to death would trigger a second stage for that mark. I think being heavily sedated for a time might be just as effective for it."

Jiraiya thought this over. "I'll take your word for it, since that thing is very confusing to me."

"I've been trying to understand it since the kit and the others got it. I believe it's some sort of secondary chakra source that first awakens in a dangerous situation. Maybe activating an already present kekkei genkai will trigger it too, but I'm not sure. Does kind of throw a wrench into my possible offer." The kyuubi mentioned.

"Possible offer?" Jiraiya repeated curiously.

"I might as well tell you anyway, since the kit's too young to understand. You see, the bijuu, when sealed inside a human, can do something to help their host out and prolong their life. Usually, the creation of a kekkei genkai, thus the source of them all." The kyuubi explained.

'So that little tidbit I heard was right.' Jiraiya quickly thought.

The kyuubi continued explaining. "The way it works is based on the host's age and the number of our tails. Take the Ichibi for example, he can offer a single kekkei genkai to his host, but it has to be done before the first birthday or else all he gets is extra chakra and quick healing. Since a human that young can't understand the situation, the Ichibi usually chooses the kekkei genkai for them, and it's always sand-wielding."

"So you can give Naruto a kekkei genkai to make him a better ninja when he's older?" Jiraiya asked, and Kyuubi nodded. "But Naruto's three, going on four. Isn't he too old for you to do that?"

"If I was the Ichibi, or anything weaker than the Sanbi, then yes. But I have until he's nine years old, since I have nine tails. And what's more, I can give him nine kekkei genkai's total, either already existing or completely original. All he has to do is decide which ones he wants, and I can give them to him."

Jiraiya gasped. "N-nine kekkei genkai? How could anyone possibly handle that?"

"He can't use them all at once. And if he were to reproduce when he's using one of them, it would be passed down to his own kits. He'll basically be a kekkei genkai factory and need nine mates when he's old enough."

Jiraiya paled. "N... nine wo.. women?" 'I never thought I'd envy a three year old before.' Then he thought of something unperverted. "Wait, what do you get out of this?"

"Two things. One, that he won't die anytime soon. The host's death hurts the bijuu too and it hurts like hell every time. And two, when he finally does die, if he accepts the offer, then I don't die with him, but get to return home. Otherwise, our lives become permanently linked. Haven't you ever wondered why everyone says when a jinchuuriki dies the bijuu does too, but all nine of us are still alive when there have been jinchuuriki in the past?"

Jiraiya went over all this newly gathered info quietly. When he opened his eyes, he found himself back outside the seal in the room with the others, laying on his back with everyone but Naruto gathered above him. "Umm... how long was I out?"

"A few minutes. Did something happen?" Tsunade answered.

Jiraiya sat up and popped his back. "Yeah, I ended up talking to the fox somehow, and heard something rather... interesting."

"Like what?" Anko asked.

"Well..." Jiraiya started. 'Crap, how can I explain this to a kid?' After thinking of the best way to phrase it, he answered her. "Let's just say Naruto here, when older, is going to be very strong and need several girlfriends."

Anko smiled, but Tsunade scowled. "You better not be planning on making him a pervert!"

"Anko-chan, why don't you leave the room for a bit so the grown-ups can talk about this?" Orochimaru suggested. The purple-haired girl got the hint and left the room, but hung outside the door to eavesdrop. "I know you're still there Anko-chan." Thus she sighed in defeat and walked away.

"Now what's this about several girlfriends?" Tsunade asked hostily, with the beginning signs of fire in her eyes.

"I know this is hard for you to believe hime, but the kyuubi told me that when Naruto here turns nine he can create nine kekkei genkai for him to have, and he can pass one down to each of his children. So nine wives would help him out, unless you'd rather one girl have nine children." Jiraiya explained.

Tsunade blanched, while Orochimaru grinned. "He can create his own kekkei genkai?"

Jiraiya nodded. "Or he can assume one that already exists or went extinct. He can only use one at a time though and each kid of his can only inherit one. I'm not sure what the case would be if the mother has one too though."

Orochimaru's grin widened. "This is perfect. I know we already brought in some kekkei genkais, but an opportunity like this is like a godsend. Think about it, we can either help out a thinning bloodline or make one that none of our enemies have ever heard of. Hell, we make even be able to improve already-existing ones."

"Calm down teme, none of this can happen until he's nine." Jiraiya pointed out.

"I know. So we've got six years to help Naruto come up with nine abilities. Oh the possibilities. I think we just got a great trump card against Konoha." Orochimaru claimed.

AN: I know I'm overpowering Naruto too much, as many fics tend to do, but I decided to try out a harem fic and I wanted a reason less cliche than the CRA. I've already got a few good ideas for some bloodlines and most of the girls, but I'm not finished for both lists. If anyone wants to offer a few ideas for girls or bloodlines, leave them in a review. I'll keep the bloodlines a mystery but here are the girls already selected: Hinata, Isaribi, Kin, Sasame, femHaku, and Hanabi(?). Tayuya, Temari, and Shizune are good too if readers want, but Anko and Kurenai won't be options. I've already got plans for them.


	11. Crimes

_I'd like to thank VFSNAKE, who was a big help in the inspiration for this chapter and in fact a new angle for the rest of this fic I never thought up before. Get ready for what could possibly be the darkest Konoha ever. Not just here, but in future chapters too._

Ch. 11 Crimes

Morning came and the three sannin were the first to wake up. This was rather early for Tsunade but she didn't have a hangover this time. Orochimaru, who was used to getting up early to check on the kids right away, did just that while his teammates still had to rub the sleep out of their eyes. Oddly, before he got to any of their rooms to see if they were up yet, he ran into Hitomi, who looked like she was waiting for him.

"Good morning Sannin-sama. Would it be alright if I had a word with you before the children get up?"

"Sure, and call me Orochimaru please." The pale sannin told her as he led her to an empty room that he was planning on making a kitchen for the residents. "So what's on your mind Hitomi-san?"

The pale-eyed woman seemed hesitant to answer, but made no effort not to. "Orochimaru-sama, remember how Tsunade-sama said my problems were because of someone poisoning me and not related to childbirth complications?" He nodded. "I've been thinking it over and... even though it disgusts me, I think I know why someone would do that."

Orochimaru could easily sense how troubling this was for her. "Would you like some tea or something? You look like you need something for your nerves."

"That would be nice, thank you." She answered quietly. Fortunately the room had enough already in it to boil water so Orochimaru was able to actually make the drink. He didn't say a word more until it was done and he handed her a steaming cup, keeping one for himself in case she didn't feel right drinking alone.

After taking a long sip, Hitomi started telling what she knew and suspected. "It all started before Hanabi was born to be honest. But I should probably start there. You see, when I had problems after she was born, I thought it was normal after-birth complications, just more exhausting than what I went thru with Hinata. But ever since Tsunade-sama told me someone had poisoned me, I've been thinking it over and I can only come to one conclusion."

"I've been wondering about that too, but go on."

Hitomi sighed. "The way I see it, only someone from the Hyuuga main branch would have had the opportunity. Even my own husband could be a suspect, although I don't want to believe that. As for motive, that requires me to tell you something rather unpleasant I discovered a week before Hanabi was born. Something that may have larger ramifications than I already suspect." She could tell the snake sannin was still paying attention here so she decided not to beat around the bush anymore. "One day that week, I was supposed to get a check up to ensure my baby was doing well, and I had to wait for the doctor to show up. I got curious and used my byakugan to see how far away they were so I'd know how long to wait, but my eyes saw something much more interesting."

"I saw numerous connected paper bombs inside the walls of the building and even the foundation. And the connections led to outside, so I checked the full scope of my visual limits and saw there was a whole network of paper bombs throughout the entire village."

Orochimaru somehow paled. "Paper bombs throughout the village?"

Hitomi nodded. "Yeah, I was immediately worried. Someone could destroy the entire place with just a kunai or something if they wanted to. I was going to alert someone, but before I did I thought of something. The vast majority of those bombs were built inside buildings, meaning they were put there when the village was being built or reconstructed and that was a long time ago. There is no possible way I was the first Hyuuga to actually catch a glimpse of this set up. Even if I didn't make it a point to use my byakugan regularly off the compound, others would and someone would have had to spot something."

Orochimaru frowned and nodded. "Meaning a genjutsu was involved that stopped working, or they're the ones who made this trap."

Hitomi nodded with him. "Or at least they know about it and plan to use it to their advantage somehow."

"How do you envision them doing something like that?"

"Well, I have heard talk from the Hyuuga elders about how they feel the Hyuuga should run the village..." Hitomi started.

Orochimaru scoffed. "Hn, sounds like a typical Uchiha attitude. Oh, pardon."

"It's okay. Anyway, I always thought it was just banter. But now, I suspect they may someday try it, and if they fail, they'd trigger the network to take the whole village down with them. I brought this up with Hokage-sama and he admitted this was a serious issue and would get right on it. I kept silent about it and saw Anbu poking around the city so I'm sure it's being handled. I think someone in the main branch must have caught onto what I discovered, because I went into labor earlier than expected and that would have been the perfect chance to get rid of me."

Orochimaru nodded. "Makes sense. If you had died they could have said it was from childbirth and not murder. And I'm willing they did something that triggered labor so they could get a second heiress before losing you. One thing I don't get is how they could have known you knew anything if you only spoke... to..." His eyes widened at this new thought and he dropped his tea cup. As it shattered on the floor, he stood up in outrage. "THAT SON OF A BITCH!"

"What's wrong Orochimaru-sama?" Hitomi quickly asked, afraid she had upset him somehow.

"Hitomi-san, the way I see it, there's only one way for anyone from the Hyuuga to know you found out anything. And that's for the one person you told to have told them." Orochimaru explained with a grim expression.

Hitomi gasped. "You mean... Hokage-sama?"

Orochimaru nodded. "How else? And even worse, that means he's onto the bomb trap as well. If he wasn't, he wouldn't say a word to the Hyuuga and simply have Anbu remove them without anyone knowing. If he told anyone, it could only be because he was part of the set up. Maybe the whole thing was his idea and he's using some of the Hyuuga clan to keep an eye on the network. And I'm willing to bet those Anbu you saw were just making sure the whole thing was still operable."

Hitomi placed her tea down. "Do you... really think the hokage would... do such a thing?"

The sannin slowly and sadly nodded. "There are things about the man I don't want to believe either, but I've seen too much to deny it. And now I'm suspecting there are more secrets of his we could benefit from knowing."

"If only you could find evidence of them." Hitomi casually offered.

Orochimaru smiled in his trademark manner, already coming up with an idea.

* * *

Later that same day three toads were inside Sarutobi's office while the old hokage was at a council meeting. One of them went in first and managed to hotwire the one security camera into playing a continuous loop of nothing happening. Since the hokage tower was one of the most secure places in Konoha with ninja, traps, and seals everywhere, cameras were little more than a peace-of-mind last resort that few paid much attention to. Once the toad was sure he succeeded in tricking the camera and anyone who may check the footage later, all three went to the hokage safe. The safe was designed to contain anything that was for the hokage's eyes only, and anything they left for their successor.

"It's a good thing the old man told Jiraiya the combination." A red toad mentioned as he turned the dial.

"Yeah, old man must have never suspected Jiraiya of wanting to take a close personal look at anything without breasts." A yellow toad added. He was partially right, because Sarutobi told Jiraiya the combination to the safe to ensure he could secure whatever was inside and add to it should he himself be someday unable to.

The safe opened and there was no alert, since only the hokage was likely to open it anyway. The three toads grabbed as much as they could, locked the door, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

Back in Oto, the three sannin patiently waited while Hitomi was watching over the children elsewhere in the tower. When the three toads returned to them, they were both eager and apprehensive about what they may find. Either way, they wanted to get thru it all quickly so they can put everything back and never be caught. Unlikely, yes but not impossible for the sannin. Besides, all they were really looking for was anything that might pose a threat to Naruto later.

The first thing to catch their eyes was a set of documents in a folder with 'Iwa' written on it. Considering the relations Konoha had with the rock village, they couldn't help but wonder what was inside. What they found, was the last thing they'd ever expect to see.

The official story about Iwa was that during the last war Minato used his Hiraishin and rasengan, among other impressive jutsus, to decimate a large number of rock nin to save Konoha and thus earned Iwa's animosity for generations to come. If Iwa ever knew he had a living relative, especially a defenseless one like Naruto, they'd do absolutely anything to kill them come hell or high water. Sarutobi had made sure each one of the sannin knew this, even before the boy was born.

Apparently that had been another lie to the sannin. According to the documents in the file, Iwa was actually grateful to the yondaime rather than spiteful. The shinobi he killed were about to try their own complete and total takeover of Iwa and Minato happened to be in the right place at the right time to get rid of them all. The end result was the Namikaze name being praised in Iwa and them wanting to be allies with the yondaime and his family. If anything they'd give Naruto their own forbidden scroll before trying to kill him.

"S-Sensei lied to us about Iwa?" Tsunade managed to make herself ask. "Why the hell would he do that?"

"I don't know, but I plan on going to visit the tsuchikage and confirming this detail right away." Jiraiya told them. "If it's true, then we'll have a good ally for this village."

Orochimaru nodded. "Agreed." 'What was that old fool thinking by misleading us that way? What was he afraid of?'

"Look at this one." Tsunade said as she held up another folder labeled 'Suna'. "This one has messages from the current hokage to the current kazekage in regards to their ow jinchuuriki."

"Suna has a jinchuuriki?" Orochimaru asked.

Jiraiya nodded. "Yep, the ichibi from what I've gather. And he's about Naruto's age if I remember correctly."

"Well get this." Tsunade started as she held out one of the papers she'd been looking over. "Sarutobi-sensei said to the kazekage, and I quote, 'So you've got the ichibi contained? Big deal. I've got the kyuubi under my control and when he's older he'll do whatever I tell him because he'll see me as one of the few worth listening to here. You'd have to put your son thru several kinds of physical and emotional hell before you pose any kind of threat to my village's grandeur.' End quote."

Orochimaru wanted to puke. "So it's not enough he tried to sabotage Naruto's chances for a good future, but he had to try and do the same for a kid in another village?"

Tsunade pulled out another page rather than answer. "And it says here from the kazekage that he's calling the old man's bluff and trying to make his jinchuuriki, his own son none the less, into a perfect killing machine. If you don't mind I'd like to go there and see what I can do about it."

"What do you hope to accomplish?" Orochimaru asked.

"Well, I'd like to see just what the kazekage is doing to his son and if possible persuade him to stop. There's no reason for him to be so malicious just because Sarutobi-sensei egged him on." The medic nin explained, then swallowed hard. "Also, if possible, I'd like to bring Naruto along, since I'm sure he can relate to the poor boy better than anyone else could."

"Take Naruto with you?" Orochimaru asked in disbelief. The sad thing was that he understood her reasoning. If the suna jinchuuriki was suffering, then Naruto would be the perfect person to lift his spirits and maybe undo any damage. But at the same time, the idea of Naruto going somewhere without him wasn't a good one to him considering the past three years.

"I think that might be a good idea Orochimaru." Jiraiya added. The only reason they were really seeking his approval wasn't because he was the chosen ruler of the city, but because they were aware he had more say over Naruto's well-being than they did, irregardless of their godparent status they never used.

"Alright, but his guardian Sango is going with him. I'm sure Anko-chan will want to as well though, so how do you feel about that?" The snake sannin asked.

"Personally I'd rather not. I'm good enough to protect him on my own and she'd just get in the way." The slug sannin answered.

Orochimaru chuckled. "Try telling her that, I dare you."

* * *

With the help of some clones the documents were quickly copied and the toads were very fortunate to get the forgeries inside the vault before Sarutobi returned to his office. The authentic ones would stay in Oto should they be needed later, and no one in Konoha would be the wiser unless Sarutobi took a good look at his own secret collection.

The next day Jiraiya told everyone in the tower he needed to check out something in a village up north. Tsunade said she had to do the same in a village down south. Everyone wished them luck, but once she mentioned she'd be bringing Naruto with her, Anko and Hinata acted up. Hinata just cried because she regarded the boy as her best friend and Anko didn't really trust Naruto to be with any adults besides Orochimaru too much.

In the end, when Tsunade did leave Oto, she brought along two kids and a snake, hoping she wouldn't come back with less.

_For anyone that's curious, all nine kekkei genkai have already been selected. Only eight girls have been confirmed now, so there's still one position available. At this time, Temari is the most likely candidate._


	12. Suna

Ch. 12 Suna

After a week of traveling Tsunade had reached Suna, bringing Naruto and Anko with her. Along with their two guardian snakes which were currently small enough to hide in their pockets and were doing just that. Part of it was to get out of the heat of the desert, and the other part was to make their trio a little less threatening. Not that an old woman with two kids looked threatening already, but they weren't natives in a hostile land and there was no reason for them to stand out so much.

Standing at the gates into the desert city were two armed guards, postioned to be on alert rather than sitting in a booth like Konoha guards. They did have a tarp over them to provide some shade, but that was the only similarity. "Halt."

Tsunade stopped and stood confidently but with no hint of hostility. "My name is Tsunade Senju and I'd like to discuss business with the kazekage regarding Konoha."

The guards recognized her name, as did many active shinobi in the elemental nations. "We haven't been informed of any visitors."

"I'm not here on any official business. More of a 'I've got something he'll want to hear' sort of visit." Tsunade told them.

The two guards huddled and whispered. "Should we let her in? What would Kazekage-sama do?"

"She may be a sannin but we have home-field advantage and the numbers advantage if she tries anything. Besides, if she was going to do something wouldn't she have brought something more helpful than two kids?"

The two guards thought it over a bit more silently before returning their attention to their visitor. "One of us will escort your party to the kage tower. Do not try anything foolish."

Tsunade nodded. "Lead the way. And please tell me you've got a casino here. What's a desert without casinoes?"

"And some ice cream too? It is too freaking hot." Anko added, wiping sweat off her forehead.

"I don't think you'll be disappointed." One guard answered, trying to sound friendly.

* * *

Everyone was quickly led to the kazekage's tower, but only Tsunade went inside. There was a park within sight of the tower with some kids playing and a shaved ice kiosk nearby so she told them to go play while she had a meeting they would be bored attending.

Anko bought some shaved ice for the both of them with some money Tsunade gave them, then the two stood in the shade of a building watching some kids kick a ball around. Anko quickly noticed one of the kids was sitting on a swing instead. Not using it, just sitting there and watching the others paly with a forlorn look. Wondering what was wrong, she grabbed Naruto's wrist and walked over to check on the boy.

A closer look showed this boy was about Naruto's age, maybe old year older at most. He had red messy hair and dark rings around his brown eyes, like a raccoon. His clothes looked like earth-toned rags and his skin wasn't really tanned but a healthy color for one outside a lot. His face however showed a lot of fear and unhappiness once he looked at the approaching new kids.

'Poor boy. He must be an orphan.' Anko thought sadly. But she then showed a friendly grin and sat on the swing next to him.

"Hi. I'm Naruto, and this is my neechan Anko. Who are you?"

The redhead blinked in surprise several times before answering. "Ga... Gaara Subaku."

"Nice to meet you Gaara. Neechan, gimme a push." Naruto said while trying to get his own swing to start moving.

Anko got up and pushed Naruto, stopping once he got enough momentum. "Want one too Gaara?"

Gaara looked at Naruto and Anko before nodding. She gave him a few gentle pushes and soon he was rocking back and forth like a pendulum. It looked a lot to her like he was almost afraid to enjoy himself, since he wasn't really smiling. The ends of his lips did curl up, but it looked like he was trying to mask any pleasure for some reason.

"Hey, get away from there!" Some boy's called out. Anko turned to see all the kids who had been playing were now watching her and Naruto with Gaara, and what surprised her more was that they looked like they had seen a ghost. "Something wrong?"

"You're actually playing with... _him_?" One of the girl's asked, as if the very idea was frighteningly unthinkable.

"Yeah, so what's got you all so worked up?" Anko asked. Naruto carefully watched while Gaara looked like he wanted to vanish.

"You shouldn't go near him. He's a monster." Another girl told them.

Anko frowned, remembering all the times she heard people in Konoha say such things about Naruto and her. "Better watch what you say." She warned, balling her fists, while her guardian snake Kogyoku popped her head out to see if anything was wrong. "I have no patience for people who talk like that."

"But everyone says he's a killing beast." A boy declared, sounded more concerned than hostile.

Anko smirked. "People say the same about my otouto all the time. So why would being near Gaara bother me?" Kogyoku ducked back into the pocket, feeling Anko could handle this herself for now at least.

A few kids frowned and gave Naruto dirty looks too. "Fine. If you wanna die, be our guest." With that, they all went back to their game and pretended this talk never happened.

Anko sat down on her swing but didn't move, just looked at the two young boys next to her. "Everything okay?"

"You did great neechan!" Naruto enthusiastically claimed.

"Wh... why did you stick up for me?" Gaara asked.

"People back in our first home said the same things about Naruto and I didn't like it. No way I was gonna let them trash-talk another like that."

Gaara looked shocked, but lightly smiled again. "Thanks." He said very quietly. For once the sand around him and the voice in his head weren't agitated.

"Why do they call you a monster too?" Naruto asked.

Gaara looked down. "I... don't know."

"Back home everyone did that to me too. It gets rough I know. But at least your family is there to make it all better right?"

Gaara slowly shook his head. "Nope. My father and siblings barely even talk to me. Yashamaru-jisan does, but only at night when I can't sleep."

Anko gasped and got off her swing. "You poor boy." She held him in a hug and immediately felt his body tensen and some sand start to rise around her feet. Afraid she scared him, she let go. "It's okay, I wasn't going to hurt you."

"What was... that?" Gaara asked.

"It's a hug. It's a sign of friendship." Naruto told the redhead.

"Friendship?" Gaara repeated, as if testing the word.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. We'll be your friends. We've been called monsters too so why not?"

Gaara smiled. 'What's this weird feeling I have? It's like... I feel safe. Even more than with my sand.'

Naruto got off the swing and noticed the kids left their ball behind. "C'mon, let's play a little." He kicked it to Anko, who kicked it to Gaara. His foot caught the ball, and he carefully kicked it towards Naruto, who had to run to catch it. In no time at all a three-man game of soccer was going on, with three smiling kids.

* * *

Tsunade was let into the office of the yondaime kazekage, and told to take a seat on a mat in the center of the room. Once inside she noticed the overall look was similar to the hokage's office last time she saw it, but this one had several seals on the walls. She didn't recognize any, but she couldn't see any that looked potentially dangerous to her. Still, her guard wasn't coming down if this kage made a move.

"So, one of the legendary sannin wishes to discuss something with me? Well, I'm curious if nothing else." The kazekage started.

"Kazekage-sama, before I bring up the topic I wish to discuss, I would like to know how you view your relation with Konoha." Tsunade started.

Since the kazekage wore a cloak over his face, much like Kakashi did with his own mask, it was difficult to read any expression he had. "Well, we've got a peace treaty between us, but I'm still wary of anything hostile that might ensue if it's a trick to lower our guards."

"Do you have reason to believe Konoha or any of it's leaders have ill intentions towards you?"

Kazekage paused, trying to think of the best way to answer that. "How is that any of your concern? You're not affiliated with my village and from what I've heard you personally haven't been inside your own in years. So why would you care about how the two villages interact?"

'Shrewd man. Like any good kage he knows not to give away too much info before getting more than he can offer. Question is, how to get him to open up with revealing too much on my own end?' Tsunade thought silently. After a moment, she spoke up again. "To be frank, Kazekage-sama, I don't. You're right, I'm not connected to Suna and my bond with Konoha is strained to nonexistant. However, I've come across something that leads me to believe you and the sandaime hokage are at each other's throats and the reason is inconsequential."

Kazekage looked surprised to hear such a thing. "Inconsequential?"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes but in a nonthreatening way. "Kazekage-sama, I know you have a jinchuuriki within this village and the hokage has told you how inferior he will be compared to the one Konoha has. How would you feel if I told you that was a bluff?"

"A bluff?"

"As in Konoha doesn't have a jinchuuriki."

Kazekage sat there looking at her and occasionally glancing at the seals in the walls. These seals were basically lie detecters and constantly read the heart rate and chakra flow of anyone in the room sans the kazekage himself. If they detected any dishonesty they would release several tranquilizer-coated senbon and some knock-out gases the kazekage had developed some tolerance to. They weren't designed to kill since the interrogators wouldn't get the truth from a corpse. Since not a single one of them was reacting he could only conclude the slug sannin was being honest.

The kazekage took a moment to let this sink in. "So Konoha does not possess a jinchuuriki?" Tsunade nodded, and he sighed. "That's a relief. I know several villages have one or two, but so far Konoha has been the only one to actually use it in a threatening way against us. If they can't flaunt one, then I don't have to be as harsh to... my own."

"I don't recommend going easy on him, or any of your shinobi, but I don't believe you should be inhumane to him either. After all, jinchuuriki's are only the prison, not the prisoner, and there's not a single one that chose that fate." Tsunade stated.

Kazekage stood up slowly, clasped his hands behind his back and turned so his left side faced the window, letting him look outside but still able to keep an eye inside his office if need be. "To tell the truth, I already knew that, but because of Konoha's threat, I tried convincing myself that the best thing for us all was to do the opposite. I didn't like seeing my own son be so alone and keep my other two children away from him. His uncle, my brother-in-law, helps him from time to time more than me but I sense he has at least some hostility towards the boy. I was sure all that animosity was good for us all, even if bad for Gaara, and maybe years from now, I would have stopped caring completely if this meeting never happened."

"So what do you plan to do now?" Tsunade asked.

Kazekage sighed. "I'm not sure. With the main threat gone, maybe I should try to be a father more than a kage for a bit. And definitely get his siblings to be around him more. Maybe he won't become the perfect weapon, but at least he won't become a bigger threat to us than anything Konoha could use." Tsunade nodded, looking pleased. "Also, I've heard one of your teammates is a seal expert am I right?" She nodded again. "Would it be too much trouble for him to come by and have a look at Gaara's seal? Sometimes the demon in him gives him trouble, making me question it's strength."

"I can arrange that. Which demon is it by the way?"

"The ichibi, weakest of the bijuu. A big reason why the hokage's threat unnerved me so much and why I was so eager to be as brutal as possible in his training. But why are you telling me all this?"

"I didn't like the idea of you destroying your own son's well-being just because some old man wanted to sound big. And the old man himself is in hot water with me and my teammates so all the more reason." Tsunade explained.

"I won't ask for more. Also, am I correct in assuming it would be best if I didn't let a word of this meeting out to Konoha?" Kazekage asked.

"Yes. That would be best."

"Very well."

* * *

Later that night Tsunade and the tow kids checked into a hotel so they wouldn't have to wander the desert at night. At the kazekage's house he surprised all three of his kids by calling them into the living room together. Temari and Kankuro were surprised Gaara was included, since he was always left out of these sorts of things. When they got there they was he was sitting comfortably on a cushioned chair so Temari and Kankuro stood in front like a pair of trained soldiers. Gaara tried to imitate them but lacked the resolve to be as stable.

"Kids, I've decided to try something new from now on that may benefit you all." He started. "From now on, I'm going to be more involved in your training and your lives outside training too, like I probably should have done from the beginning."

All three kids looked more surprised than one might expect of them. "What do you mean Otou-sama?" Temari asked.

"I mean I'm going to try and be more of a parent from now on and not just a commander." Kazekage answered.

"Why? Not that I mind, but why the sudden change of heart?" Kankuro asked.

Kazekage smiled, and since he wasn't masking his face everyone could see it. "Because now I'm not afraid not to." He then glanced over at Gaara. "You okay, son?"

The redhead nodded. "Yes Otou-sama. I'm well, better than ever thanks to my new friends."

"You made friends?" Kazekage asked as Temari and Kankuro gave him curious glances.

Gaara nodded. "Yes. Their names are Naruto and Anko. They told me they'd visit as much as possible since they don't live here. And write once I know how to write and read."

"Interesting. I think I'd like to see them too." Temari added, thinking they had to be quite brave and/or kind to want to associate with Gaara.

Kazekage smiled, feeling quite paternal, something he hadn't felt in years. "That's good, son. Very good."


	13. Care

Ch. 13 Care

A knock at Tsunade's door the next morning woke her up and she was not happy about it. Grumbling while rubbing her eyes, she opened the door. "What do ya want at this ungodly hour?"

"Language please, there are children present. And for the record, nine in the morning hardly qualifies as such." Some soft voice Tsunade assumed belonged to a man replied.

When Tsunade finally looked at her visitors, she first saw a feminine-looking man with pale hair and a gentle expression. With him were three kids, a blonde girl which looked to be the oldest, a brown-haired boy, and a red-haired boy which looked to be the youngest. "Hi. What brings you here?"

"My name is Yashamaru, and with me are Kazekage-sama's children. Apparently one of them made friends with some children in your care and wished to spend time with them before you left our village. And the other two were curious about the first kids brave enough to socialize with them."

'I woke up early because some kids wanted a play date?' Tsunade irritably thought.

"I'm sorry if this inconveniences you, but Kazekage-sama thinks this is a good thing for them all. Are you in any particular hurry to leave?" Yashamaru added.

Tsunade shook her head. "No, I need some time to compose myself. I'm not a morning person and haven't been an active shinobi in years so I can't be in a rush just yet."

Yashamaru smiled. "Well in the meantime, please watch after these three and return them to the kage tower when it's time for either you or them to go home." Before the sannin could interject, he had already left the hallway.

"Well, since I don't have much of a choice now, come on in and keep quiet." Tsunade gestured while yawning. When the three new kids were in, she noticed Anko and Naruto were already awake and playing tic-tac-toe at a table. "How long have you two been up?"

"About twenty minutes." Anko answered.

"Hi Gaara." Naruto waved happily.

'So these are the only two kids brave enough to be around Gaara?' Temari thought as she looked over the purple-haired girl and the blonde boy. 'Boy's cute and I bet he'll be handsome when older. Girl looks like the type I can enjoy being around.'

"Hi. I'm Temari Subaku. And this is the brother you don't know, Kankuro. And just to warn you, he's a bigger pain than Gaara is sometimes."

"I am not."

"Yes you are. Gaara doesn't go thru my make-up kit."

"IT'S WAR PAINT!"

"Glad I don't use the stuff then so he can't steal it." Anko stated, not believing the cloaked boy's cry. After all, it did look a lot like make-up to her.

"Not you too. Doesn't anybody believe me?" Kankuro whined.

"Hey otouto, what do you think? Make-up or war paint?" Anko asked Naruto.

The young boy took one brief look before answering. "Make-up?" Everyone but Kankuro laughed. Well, Tsunade and Gaara just grinned instead.

"So what brings you three here today?" Tsunade asked politely.

Temari being the oldest chose to answer that. "Our father thought it would be a good idea, and so did we. Gaara here has never been able to make friends before yesterday and we wanted to get to know the first people willing to do that."

Tsunade looked at the raccoon-eyed boy. 'So he's this village's jinchuuriki? No wonder him making friends is a big deal to them. Bet he can get along with Naruto, even without either of them knowing the truth.' "Okay then, now that you've met, what next?"

"We usually spend our mornings training in a private area. Wanna come along?" Kankuro asked.

"Sure." Naruto said. He didn't know any jutsu, but was starting to work on snake-style taijutsu, which Anko had several years experience at by now.

Gaara looked down at his feet, until his sister tapped his shoulder. "You can come too Gaara. Just don't go overboard." The boy looked shocked, and to a point relieved.

* * *

During one of the kazekage's breaks, he looked out his window over the training ground his children were using to practice. Along with them was the slug sannin and two children he didn't recognize, but assumed were the friends Gaara mentioned. Tsunade was watching over as the five kids worked on taijutsu. Actually, Gaara was just making punching motions while standing still rather than real practice.

"Kazekage-sama, why exactly have you called us here?" One of the gathered jounin in the room asked. Many of them, including Yashamaru, but not all of them since all couldn't fit, had been ordered to appear here for an announcement.

"I've called you here to give you a very important order." Kazekage started, not facing any of them. "Remember how I was toying with the idea of ordering assassinations on Gaara to either strengthen him or eliminate him? Well, I've changed my mind. It was a foolish whim I wish I never had and I don't want to see anyone actually try to go thru with it."

"You can't be serious!" One jounin shouted in disbelief.

Kazekage turned sligthly to face the group now. "And why is that?"

"He's a monster! We need to get rid of him before he can destroy us!" The same jounin answered.

"Wouldn't trying to kill him repetitively make him _want _to destroy us?" Kazekage asked. "What if we gave him reason to want to help us instead of hurt us?"

"You actually want to cater to the ichibi?" A different jounin asked.

"No, I want to cater to my son, the boy who keeps the ichibi locked up."

Yashamaru looked surprised. 'In all my years I don't think I've ever once heard Kazekage-sama refer to Gaara as his son. Something's happened recently.'

"But Kazekage-sama, wasn't sealing the demon inside a child so it can be killed the whole point?" A female jounin asked.

"If it was, then why would Gaara still be alive today? For that matter, wouldn't I choose some orphan likely to die and not be missed over my own child? No, the whole point was to ensure the ichibi didn't escape it's previous prison and could be used for the good of the village."

'And all it took was my sister dying.' Yashamaru bitterly thought but didn't show any resentment.

Kazekage continued before anyone could interject. "We all almost forgot that, or maybe to some of us, completely forgot that. Well yesterday I got a reminder, and I say Gaara is to be shown the same respect and training you'd give my other children. I see anyone doing otherwise without just reason and you will be demoted or fired. Am I understood?" Some nodded, but some didn't, one of which being Yashamaru. "Is there something wrong?"

"Kazekage-sama, this is a lot to take in now, and I'm not sure I can act like all my hostility never happened." A blonde jounin answered carefully.

"As long as you don't act on that hostility that doesn't really matter. Is that too much to ask of you?" Kazekage replied.

The blonde jounin closed his eyes. "N-no sir."

"Any other objections?" Kazekage asked. There were none. "Good. Return to your assignments and let the others know." They all left and he sat in his chair. "That went well I'd say. I hope it stays that way."

* * *

Night came and Tsunade chose to stay one more night for the kid's sake. But they were leaving tomorrow as soon as possible back to Oto. Anko and Naruto said goodbye to the Subaku siblings in case they didn't get to see them tomorrow morning before they left, promising to keep in touch.

Around midnight that night, with a large full moon high in the starry sky, Tsunade had to get up to use the restroom. Her moving around managed to wake Naruto up too but not Anko. "Someting wong baa-chan?" The sleepy three year old asked, slurring his words.

"Nothing dear, go back to sleep." She kindly told him before heading off to do her business. When she finished and came back, she noticed Naruto was out of bed and looking out the window wide awake. "What are you doing Naruto-chan?"

"Baa-chan, just saw a shadowy ninja man run by carrying a kid." Naruto answered fearfully, as if he had just seen the boogeyman. "I think he had red hair."

'Red hair? Gaara-chan?' Tsunade thought, quickly getting worried. 'I guess Suna's full of people who aren't afraid to kill a child either if they think about the demon more. I came here to help this village's jinchuuriki, so I gotta check this out.' She then picked up her godson. "Naruto-chan, can you show me which way they went?"

* * *

Gaara was frightened. He had been keeping himself occupied by playing with a teddy bear since he couldn't sleep when his kindly uncle Yashamaru came to him and offered him a drink. Next thing he knew he couldn't move but was still awake, and Yashamaru was joined with a new Suna jounin Gaara had never seen before. This one was a man with red eyes and a thin greying beard but no mustache. They both took him out of his room and carried him to the outer edge of Suna, on top of the roof of a weapon storage building. The fact that Yashamaru, a non-acknowledged threat, was carrying Gaara was the one and only reason the sand hadn't slaughtered them already.

Luckily the ichibi's chakra had been able to filter out the paralysis drug by now so he could speak and move. ""Yashamaru-jisan, what are you doing?"

"Sorry Gaara, but you were never meant to live." The boy's primary caretaker told him, sounding woeful but not truly repentant.

"Why are you apologizing to him? He doesn't deserve it." The other jounin criticized.

"Take it easy Keigo-san." Yashamaru said peacefully as the sand around Gaara got agitated. "Again Gaara, sorry, but in the best interest of Suna, you have to die."

"Why?" Gaara asked as he crawled backwards, crying. "Why Yashamaru-jisan? What did I do to deserve this? And why are you trying to kill me? Don't you care about me?" He briefly recalled a previous discussion he had with his uncle regarding pain, both physical and emotional, and his mother, where his uncle showed famial care for the redhead. The first time he remembered experiencing such a thing.

"You're an idiot if you think anyone can care about you. No one loves a demon." The jounin called Keigo claimed as he pulled out a dagger, ready to strike while the boy was too afraid to use his sand. Too bad he wasn't aware the sand could be commanded by Shukaku too, for he might have lived a little longer. Instead, the sand impaled him like a dango stick.

Gaara looked at the sight briefly before looking to his uncle, really hoping the same thing didn't happen to him. "Please Yashamaru-jisan, not you too. Why?" The sand skewer dissolved to stay close to him and Keigo's body slumped on the stone roof they were on.

"You better have a damn good reason for this." A woman's voice sternly stated from out of nowhere. Yashamaru and Gaara then saw Tsunade and Naruto step out of the shadows not looking happy. Tsunade looked pissed while Naruto looked surprised by the whole thing. "And this morning I thought you were a decent person. Was that all an act?"

"You don't understand the whole situation sannin-sama."

"I understand enough." Tsunade almost screamed, then calmed down. "Naruto-chan, go check on Gaara-chan." She let him down and stepped between the boys and Yashamaru. "I already know that child contains the ichibi, also called Shukaku here, but he's not the same entity."

"Even so, he's a constant reminder of the pain Shukaku has brought us. Can you blame us for wanting to rid ourselves of such a thing?"

Tsunade's scowl deepened. "Yes I can. If you can look me right in the eyes and tell me the first thing you see when you look at that poor child is anything but a poor child, then you are the monster."

"But he's not as innocent as you'd like him to appear. He's killed before and will keep doing so." The Suna jounin countered.

The slug sannin didn't look fazed. "If you mean just now, I saw it and know it was self defense. Your partner made the first move and I'm willing to tesitfy to the kazekage about it."

"That's not what I meant. He killed his own mother, my sister, and if he's willing to do that who's safe?" Yashamaru added, sounding afraid and vengeful at the same time.

Tsunade took a step closer. "And how exactly does that bother you?"

"What?"

"Are you bothered by Gaara as a professional ninja who's thinking about possible bad events, or are you bothered as a brother who's bitter about losing a family member and taking it out on the one person connected to the event? Is this resentment on a professional or personal level for you?"

Yashamaru scowled. "Not that it's any of your business, but it's both."

"Then I'm reporting you to the kazekage. He told me his new orders regarding the treatment of Gaara-chan. Since you're a threat to him I must report you." Tsunade proclaimed. "Until then..." She quickly did an induced sleep jutsu meant to calm panicky patients, but it did it's job here and put the effeminate man to sleep. She turned around to look at the two boys. "You two okay?"

Naruto nodded, but Gaara didn't. "I'll never be loved, will I?"

Tsunade hugged him. "You will be, I promise someday others will tell you how much they care about you." She then shedded a single tear. 'But can he last until then?'


	14. Apart

Ch. 14 Apart

"Sorry to bother you so late at night Kazekage-sama." Tsunade told the leader of Suna as some of the village's anbu took Yashamaru and his partner into custody. She was inside the kazekage's office with Naruto sleeping on her leg and Gaara wide awake in her lap with her arms around him in a gentle embrace. She wondered if the poor boy would have been able to sleep right then if he had been able to.

"No need. I'm glad you were able to help him out. If you hadn't, he might have been killed or emotionally scarred for life at hearing my brother-in-law denounce him like that." Kazekage replied after a sip of coffee to stay awake for this. "But because of this little incident, I'm afraid I have a request of you sannin-san."

"What kind of request?"

Kazekage sighed. "Even though I've declared Gaara is to be treated humanely, it's evident that not everyone will go along with it. I fear that in order for my son to become rational and stable, he may need to spend some time away from here."

'Reminds me of what Orochimaru told me regarding Naruto.' Tsunade quickly thought. "And you want me to care for him? With all due respect Kazekage-sama, my teammates and I already have several children to watch over in our new home."

"I'm not asking for anything long-term. Just six months, a year tops. Long enough for him to accept kind human contact and long enough for this village to let go of their opinions towards him. I hope. And besides, since your teammate needs to look over his seal, wouldn't it be more convenient to bring Gaara to him so he can monitor the after effects?"

Tsunade wasn't in the mood to argue. "Alright then. You have a good point."

"Also, I'd like you to take my other two children along too." Kazekage added. At seeing Tsunade's alarmed expression he continued. "Part of it is for Gaara's sake and their own. They've spent so little time together even though they're siblings. In a non-hostile environment they can lose their fear of each other and start their bonds properly. Also, I must admit the notion of having all three of my kids receive care and guidance from the legendary sannin is an added bonus."

'Well when you already have eight kids to watch over what's three more for a short time?' Tsunade thought wearily. "I'll try, but if my teammates don't agree I'll have to bring them back. Besides, are you so sure it's wise to let someone you don't even know look after your children?"

Kazekage sighed. "It's sad, but for the brief time you have been here you and your group has already done more for them than this village would have ever done without you. If I can't ask you to secure their well-being, who can I?"

Remembering Yashamaru, Tsunade nodded. "Alright then." 'Wonder what Jiraiya and Orochimaru will say about this.'

* * *

Meanwhile, in Iwa, Jiraiya was on edge about how his own little encounter with a foreign kage was going to go. While he hoped things would go in his favor, he wasn't about to pretend there was no potential danger here. Not with Iwa's reputation regarding Konoha forces, even if that may turn out to be truly false. Which was the whole point of this visit.

So far the fact that Jiraiya hadn't been attacked on sight was a good thing. When he asked for permission to see the tsuchikage, they told him to wait outside city limits while one of Iwa's anbu checked to see if the tsuchikage even wanted a visitor. He had to wait a day outside before he got an answer, but for a hermit like him that was nothing.

The answer he did get certainly surprised him. The next morning, the tsuchikage came to the gates personally to see him there, accompanied by two guards. One was a tall hefty person that looked like part of the Akimichi clan and the second was a brunette kunoichi in attire that was easy on Jiraiya's eyes. The toad sannin allowed himself one brief perverted mental moment to get it out of his system before he became purely professional about this opportunity.

"Tsuchikage-sama I presume?" Jiraiya greeted generally. 'Man this guy really needs to retire. Was he always this short, or does he have that old person syndrome that makes them shrink to a fraction of their size?'

"Yes and what is so important you had to drag me away from my work and comfortable chair?" Tsuchikage said, feigning irritation since he wanted to go outside and get some fresh air anyway. But he needed to maintain a tough image.

"Well Tsuchikage-sama, as you may or may not know I'm affiliated with Konoha." Jiraiya started to test for a reaction, which he didn't get. "And recently I've come across some information regarding your village that absolutely must be confirmed by yourself."

"And why the heck should I?"

"Because it involves the yondaime hokage." Jiraiya answered, again gauging the reaction.

This time he got one, as the tsuchikage widened his eyes and the two guards looked at the old man carefully, as if expecting orders just then. Tsuchikage then coughed and recomposed himself. "What about him? Last I heard he died a little over three years ago. You're not gonna tell me that's changed are you?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "Nope. But what I need to know is your village's opinion on him. And let's just say I have a personal interest in knowing."

"Like what?" The husky guard asked.

"Well for one thing, I was his teacher." The toad sannin answered. 'There's the bait. If they really have enough anger at Minato to attack those closest to him they should try something to me in a few moments. If they don't, it should mean Naruto's safe from them.'

"Should we tell him?" The Iwa kunoichi asked the short old man.

Tsuchikage shrugged. "Why not? It's not going to change anything is it? And the subject isn't something we really need to hide anyway." He then looked right at Jiraiya, as much as the height difference would allow for eye contact. "I'd like to say you taught him well. We owed him a lot but never got the chance to repay him for his heroics here."

"So the yondaime hokage really is revered here?" Jiraiya asked.

Tsuchikage raised an eyebrow. "Whatever made you think he wasn't?"

"The sandaime hokage."

There was a long pause for a bit. "Care to explain?"

"You might want to sit down for this. It could take a while." Jiraiya told him, sitting down himself to show this wasn't some trick. Neither one of the Iwa nin made an effort to move though. "Anyway, as you should already be aware, the yondaime hokage, in the last great ninja war, slew a great number of your forces."

"Yes. And?" Tsuchikage asked impatiently.

"The official story going around Konoha, as told by the sandaime hokage, is that your entire village would fight to the last civilian like a bunch of crazed mindless marauders to kill Yondaime-sama if he were still alive. Or his family if any were alive irregardless of their age or involvement."

All three of the present Iwa shinboi involuntarily jerked back, as if stabbed by something. "Care to repeat that?" Tsuchikage asked.

"I think you heard it right the first time." Jiraiya responded formally. "The only reason I'm here is because I've recently come across several documents and peace offers from Iwa to Konoha showing gratitude and concern for Yondaime-sama. Since I knew only what the sandaime hokage told me, I felt I needed to get an answer directly from the source."

The kunoichi gave the tsuchikage and then the toad sannin confused looks. "Why would he say something like that?"

"I haven't the foggiest. But I need to know if there's any truth to it." Jiraiya replied.

"There might be a few people, those connected to the slain, but only a few and not the whole village. Your hokage really did us a favor. Had he not been here at that time, we might have had a civil war and become similar to 'The Bloody Mist' afterwards." The husky guard answered.

Tsuchikage nodded in agreement. "Indeed. We owe Minato Namikaze a great deal. The least we can do for him is not encroach on Konoha until it proves it deserves otherwise."

Jiraiya sighed sadly. "I'm afraid it may already be too late." At their predicted confused looks, he continued his train of thought. "Yondaime-sama does have a living relative, and let's just say Konoha has been as bad to him as they claim you would be. Maybe worse."

There was a bit of a pause from the Iwa shinobi. "Who is he?"

"Minato's three year old son."

"Wait a minute. You said the sandaime hokage claims we'd be like monsters to him, a three year old and the son of their hero? And Konoha's been just as bad in reality to the same three year old all this time?" The kunoichi asked, mortified by what she was hearing. "Why?"

Jiraiya shrugged. "I don't know all the details myself. And what I do know I can't reveal any more than I've already said. If you want to hear more, contact me thru the daimyo of Land of Rice Paddies later. My teammates and I can better inform you then. Until then, if you have any contact with Konoha or the hokage, try and pretend this discussion never took place."

Tsuchikage faintly nodded. "I'll keep that in mind. After all, my gut tells me I want to hear all of this little matter."

Jiraiya nodded. 'Best they don't know about Naruto being a jinchuuriki for now. And as for everything else, I only have guesses for. Guesses that would only confuse them without them knowing of the kyuubi's full involvement here.'

"I have a lot to think about, so I'll part here and contact you if I need reassurance. So long sannin-san." Tsuchikage said as he began to turn to go back to his office.

Jiraiya nodded. "Remember, Rice Paddie Daimyo if you need me." He then shushined away.

The Iwa nin walked away in silence until they were inside the kage tower. Once there Tsuchikage raised a sound barrier around the three of them. "So what do you two think he isn't telling us?"

"Something really important. If he's right about all of Konoha treating Namikaze-sama's child so roughly, there must be a reason. Maybe one or two people would be horrible without just cause, but the whole village? Impossible; a whole village doesn't just come together and say 'Let's make this kid's life hell just for the fun of it'. They must have a motive. Question is, what?" The husky guard stated.

"Wait, I just thought of something." The kunoichi commented. "Sannin-sama said Namikaze-sama's child was three, right? Wasn't Konoha hit by the kyuubi no kitsune three years ago?" Such an event was generally too big to be covered up and was heard all around the elemental nations. No enemies invaded Konoha afterwards because word got out little damage had been done so the opportunity for invasion wasn't increased.

Tsuchikage's eyes widened at the implication. "Well, he was renown as a sealing expert, so what you're suggesting is not impossible." Iwa had it's own jinchuuriki's which had been created under similar circumstances so the connection was an easy one for them to make once they actually thought about it.

"Let me get this straight." The husky guard said. "You're suggesting that the yondaime hokage saved his village from the strongest bijuu of legend by sealing it inside his own child, effectively killing himself, and they repay him by abusing his child and making it sound like our village would be even worse if we knew about him?"

"You got any better explanation? Considering what sannin-sama told us, it makes sense." The kunoichi replied.

Tsuchikage groaned. "We have much to think about. But for now, none of this ever happened am I clear?" His two guards nodded. "Good."

Later on the tsuchikage went back into his office and wearily rested his forehead on his clasped heads. 'What a mess. I highly doubt this is some sort of trick since I myself sent an offer of peace to Konoha years ago and got a positive answer back. One of their own trying to manipulate a drift between us is illogical. It sounds to me like the current hokage is up to something, but whatever it is, it sure isn't clear. I need to keep an eye on this matter, and until I'm more aware of the hokage's involvement, it's best I keep him uninformed like he did me.'

* * *

Meanwhile, things weren't going that well for Orochimaru back in Oto. He should have known something like this would have happened, but was more focused on other pressing matters. At the moment he was dealing with Oto's first prisoner.

The prisoner in question was a man from the Hyuuga clan branch family, evidenced by the seal on his forehead. No other identifying features were on his person though. Hitomi might have recognized him if she saw him, but Orochimaru was keeping her ignorant of this situation for now, at least until he had a better understanding of it. He already had a good idea what was going on, but needed to confirm and since he hadn't assigned any interrogators yet, he would have to do the job here.

"Why did you come here?" The snake sannin asked the captive, who was chained to a chair in a small room. It was a good thing Oto already had a place to put their captives even if they didn't expect any so soon.

"Piss off." The Hyuuga spat.

"Never thought I'd hear talk like that from a Hyuuga. But then again I never expected the clan to be full of child-beaters either." He then summoned a giant constrictor snake which got ready to constrict around the prisoner but didn't just yet. "So tell me, why are you here?"

"You'll never get anything out of me you scumbag." The Hyuuga said before he used one hand to make a hand sign that made his seal glow before he fell down coughing up blood.

"What was that?" The snake asked.

Orochimaru checked for a pulse, then saw the caged bird seal light up again and every orifice on the man's head started bleeding badly. "He's definitely dead. Must have used a suicide jutsu to activate his own seal and avoid anything that could happen here. Didn't think Hyuuga's could do that to themselves."

The snake left and Orochimaru used a fire jutsu to dispose of the remains. 'I have a feeling that the Hyuuga family sent him after Hitomi-san to watch over her. Maybe to confirm her death if they indeed tried poisoning her. It did seem rather odd that when Jiraiya offered to take her to a healer they just let her go off on her own, even if they were innocent. But this also means he had to have followed Jiraiya the whole way or had some help tracking him. Something's not right here since the Hyuuga track primarily with their eyes alone and Gamabunta runs too swift for any human to keep an eye on or keep up with on foot. And what's worse, it's possible this Hyuuga got a message out about where we are and who's here. And I have no idea what to do about that just now.'

He paused for a brief sigh. 'I know Jiraiya already told them Hitomi-san and her baby didn't make it, but if this is any indication of things to come, we need to get on the defensive soon. Not just for the Hyuuga, but maybe Konoha too.'


	15. Trouble

Ch. 15 Trouble

"Ah guys, good thing you're... Tsunade, what's the meaning of this?" Orochimaru said as his two teammates showed up back in Oto, coincidentally at the same time. But that wasn't what surprised him. No, what surprised him was that Tsunade had left with two kids and came back with five.

"Long story short, Kazekage-sama wants us to watch over his kids for a few months, maybe a year but no longer." Tsunade answered, trying to make it sound like it was no big deal or at worst a minor inconvenience. Naturally it didn't work.

"Please tell me the unsummarized version Tsunade." Orochimaru said wearily as he rubbed his head, feeling a small headache preemptively start.

Hitomi, who was standing next to Orochimaru at the time smiled to the children present. "Welcome to our village. I hope you enjoy your time here and behave like god children should."

Tsunade knelt down to look at the kids first. "Say Naruto-chan, Anko-chan, why don't you introduce our guests to your other friends and make them feel welcome?"

"Sure. Follow me guys." Naruto eagerly said before he ran down the hall excitedly.

Anko quickly followed him. "Wait otouto. You don't even know where they are."

"We gotta deal with this for six months?" Kankuro snidely questioned as he and his siblings followed Anko.

Once all the kids were out of sight Tsunade turned to Jiraiya. "Jiraiya, first thing I want to say is you need to look over the young boy with red hair tonight. Check the seal on him a dozen times if you have to; just make sure it works."

"Let me guess, he's Suna's jinchuuriki."

Tsunade nodded, and then faced both her teammates. "What we read was true, the kazekage was being inhumane to his jinchuuriki, his own son, because he had become intimidated by sensei's boasting. I managed to convince him there was no threat and he was relieved, and decided to treat the poor boy like a human again. But because of long term past damage, he feared the boy couldn't just handle the new change and wanted us to look over him in an environment he knows isn't dangerous. Again, just temporarily, but this will ensure good connections with Suna."

"Good. One good thing to come. Jiraiya, anything on your end?" Orochimaru replied.

"The tsuchikage was a little more difficult in my opinion. Old guy really has a watchful eye on anyone who just shows up for any reason. But I did find out that Minato really is praised there and they're appalled that his son was a pariah back in Konoha. No guarantee on an allegiance yet, but I expect to hear from them within a week's time wanting to discuss one."

"I sure hope things work out. We could use the support." Hitomi commented.

"How much did either of you two tell about Naruto?" Orochimaru asked.

"I said nothing other than he was alive." Jiraiya answered.

"Likewise. The kazekage saw him and spoke with him once, but he shouldn't suspect anything unusual." Tsunade answered too. "And as a side note, neither Naruto-chan or Gaara realizes their own situation or the other ones yet."

"Good. Let it stay that way for a bit. Let them both just be kids for a while, then tell them that burden." Jiraiya suggested. "And I'll look over the seal first thing tonight. Just wondering how to explain it to him without saying too much."

"Aside from that, here's something I need to tell all of you, especially you Hitomi-san." Orochimaru started, gaining all of their interests. "Not too long ago, we had an intruder. A member from the Hyuuga branch family tracked Hitomi-san down with unclear but surely not beneficial motives. I didn't get much out of him, but it shows that Oto may not be as secure as we intended."

Jiraiaya smacked his hand with his fist. "Dammit, it must have been because we came here on Bunta. Big guy leaves pretty big footprints after all, with flattened trees in them so it probably wasn't that hard."

Tsunade nodded. "Good point. We'll have to find a way to cover the tracks up and soon."

"Any idea who it was?" Hitomi asked.

Orochimaru shook his head. "Sorry, no name given or any identification."

Hitomi sighed. "I had a feeling something like this would have happened. If they really did poison me then there's no way they'd just let me go off to see the best medic nin Konoha knows to go get cured."

"Then why did they?" Tsunade asked.

"Probably because refusing to would incriminate them or make them look dishonorable in the village's eyes." Jiraiya suggested.

"That's what I think too. The Hyuuga have always been a vain clan, wanting the best public image. Second only to the Uchiha."

"So they say yes to avoid looking bad, then watch from the shadows to eliminate any problems without it being obvious they're responsible? Thus saving face and maybe gaining sympathy from the village for having suffered such a tragic loss?" Tsunade summarized.

"I'm more concerned about what they'll do when their little errand-boy doesn't return." Jiraiya added.

Hitomi didn't know what to say just then. 'My own clan... my family... maybe even my husband... want me dead or completely under their control. All because I might have blown the cover on something that could be very dangerous in the wrong hands? It was my duty to report threats to the village, not hide them. What is going on here?'

"Here's something you forgot Tsunade-chan." Orochimaru added. "Had things gone as they planned, it would have made Jiraiya look like he had placed Hitomi-san in a dangerous situation like an incompetent fool and you like you're not as good a medic nin as your reputation claims."

Jiraiya blinked and widened his eyes at the realization.

Do you think that smear on us would have been intentional or just a side effect?"

"Probably the latter. Why would anyone in Konoha want to deliberately defame two of it's most celebrated soldiers?"

"I don't know. This mess is too much for even me to understand right away. I can't even begin to understand why anyone there has done any of the things they've done. At least, I don't have a good answer for anything." Orochimaru answered wearily.

"Sounds like the Will of Fire is all burned out." Hitomi commented quietly.

"That it does." Jiraiya agreed. Then he thought of something off topic. "Hey, not to be crass or anything, but with so many kids here at one time, is it possible that some people will start to think someone here's a pedophile?"

Everyone gave the toad sannin surprised looks, but Tsunade lightly grinned after a moment's thought. "Well if they do, won't they most likely accuse the one with the most perverted reputation?"

Jiraiya groaned, hit his head, and went off to guzzle down some sake while the others laughed.

* * *

Meanwhile, Naruto and Anko found Hinata, Kabuto, Kurenai, Yamato, and Isaribi were busy playing in a pool outside. Kurenai was trying to show Hinata how to swim since she didn't know how yet outside the shallow end. The two boys were just floating around lazily while Isaribi swam like she had been born underwater.

"Hi guys. We're back." Naruto shouted as he walked up to them all.

"Hi Naruto-kun, Anko-chan. Who's that with you?" Kurenai greeted while the others just waved.

"Some friends we got in Suna. They're going to be staying here for a little while." Anko answered.

Temari stepped forward and put her hand on her hip. "Hi, I'm Temari Subaku. The clown is my brother Kankuro and the redhead is my brother Gaara."

"I'm not a clown." Kankuro countered.

"Your face says otherwise." The blonde Suna girl replied snidely.

Anko leaned in to whisper to Kankuro. "Maybe for the time being you shouldn't decorate your face with anything."

"But it looks cool."

"Then why is everyone making fun of you for it?"

The Suna boy slumped in defeat after that comment.

"Hey you guys brought swimsuits right? Let's swim." Naruto asked excitedly before ducking away to change into his own swimwear. "Hey, where's Shizune-chan?"

"Watching over Hanabi-chan for now. She'll be here shortly." Kurenai answered.

"Good think Tsunade-sama had some stop at that shop and get some swimsuits since they don't sell those in Suna." Temari stated before going into a dressing room herself. Kankuro, Gaara, and Anko soon changed as well and hopped in the pool, starting in the shallow end. Since Anko and Temari had the most experience swimming, Temari having been able to sneak into one of the few oasis's around Suna from time to time, they soon ended up in the deeper end. Kurenai would have joined them but was still helping Hinata get the hang of it. Yamato and Kabuto started doing the same with Kankuro and Gaara. Naruto was just winging it but enjoying himself, and it looked like Isaribi was sticking close by him.

Temari gave Anko a small nudge and whispered. "Looks like that girl has a bit of a crush on your brother."

"Maybe, but the other girl with white eyes has one too I think."

"Which one do you think he likes?"

Anko shrugged. "Don't know. Doesn't really matter since Jiisan said he's supposed to have nine wives when he's older. Maybe he'll have both."

Temari gasped silently. "Nine? How is that possible?"

Anko shrugged again. "Dunno, but if otouto deserves it, then it doesn't matter to me."

Temari gave the blonde boy a longer long. "Hmm... wonder what's so special about him?"

Anko narrowed her eyes. "Don't tell me you want to be one of the nine."

Temari shrugged and grinned mischievously. "Not now, but maybe I'd like to be considered an option later on. He is a good person you gotta admit that."

"Don't need to tell me that."

* * *

Back in Konoha, Sarutobi was in his office dealing with a rather irate Danzo. But then again, a calm Danzo was probably a more dangerous one. "Danzo, haven't I already told you that there are no free jinchuuriki's to be claimed? How many times must we go over this?"

"As many times as it will take until you realize my point is valid." The old warhawk declared.

"Valid? You've been asking me, practically ordering me, the hokage, to send out units to other villages and steal their jinchuuriki to replace the one we lost. It's not as simple as you'd like to imagine."

"Rubbish. Surely there must be a village that doesn't want their demon anymore than Konoha did and would be glad to have it off their hands."

Sarutobi narrowed his eyes. "Even if you were right, what village would that be? No village announces to others that they have a jinchuuriki." 'The only reason I even heard about the one in Suna is because they asked Minato how to seal the Shukaku away and the kazekage was naive enough to send the hokage information that it had been successful before he realized Minato was no longer in office.'

Danzo wasn't swayed. "That's what we have trackers for."

"Don't you realize that all villages keep their jinchuuriki's guarded from outside threats until they can fight back?" Sarutobi countered, ignoring the fact that jinchuuriki were only guarded to a point.

"Have you so little faith in your own ninja that you feel they can't accomplish this? Looks like you're getting too old for this job. Maybe someone..." Danzo tried to say.

"Danzo, you're a year older than I am. If I'm too old so are you." The sandaime hokage interrupted.

Danzo scowled. "Nevertheless, I still say I should round up some shinobi and have them..."

"Danzo, like you yourself said a moment ago, the ninja are mine to control. You're not hokage, I am. And I say it's a waste of resources to go jinchuuriki-hunting. Maybe you and the rest of the council should have worked to ensure we didn't loose the one we already had. But no, it was so much more important to you to have everyone victimize him."

"We needed to ensure he knew his place." Danzo explained like he was justifying swatting a fly.

"And that place was going to be under my rule when he would have grown to be a shinobi. But thanks to everyone else he never lived past three. And you want to say 'Oops, better luck next time'? I'm not even going to consider this until I see good reason to take in a foreign ninja or another bijuu strikes. And if by chance one does show up anytime soon, I will hold you responsible for it and make it known to the whole village."

'Damn. I guess I have no choice but to send out ROOT nin to find a vulnerable young jinchuuriki. I was hoping to have it be approved by Hiruzen so I wouldn't have to waste my own resources but it can't be helped. No matter how long it takes, I will acquire that sort of weapon.' Danzo bitterly thought. "Very well then. I'll leave you to your work." He said before leaving.

'Pompous SOB.' Sarutobi thought. 'He's still pissy that Nidaime-sama chose me over him. I've been trying to shame him for years to get him to accept it but it seems it's still going to take a while. If Naruto was still alive and able to serve me later I'm sure he would have been an excellent tool in doing so. Alas, what's done is done and I have to deal with the future. Gotta figure out who could take the place of Hiashi's late wife so the main branch can produce a new heir. He shouldn't mind since he married Hitomi for political reasons only so doing it again would be nothing new. Also, I wonder if that one Hyuuga was able to finish her off before she told Jiraiya or Tsunade anything they didn't need to know. He hasn't reported back yet; maybe he's a casualty. Well, as long as he got the job done, that's the important thing.'


	16. Taki

Ch. 16 Taki

A few years, three to be exact, had gone by and Oto remained an unknown village in the world. Many ninja in the village were trained and assigned ranks, but few had taken any missions outside the villages yet to avoid as much attention as possible. None even wore their official hitai-ates when on their missions to avoid letting any witnesses know there was a new hidden village. Although no one had actually left the country yet they were still not ready to announce themselves to the world. So far only two places knew about it's existence, it's allies Suna and Iwa, who made it official once the tsuchikage heard the whole story from all the sannin and saw documented proof of their claim.

For the sannin, Orochimaru and Tsunade mostly stayed in the village helping out the inhabitants. Since they had no official business in Konoha they could get away with it. Orochimaru was the official leader so he usually did the kage business for the village while Tsunade ran the hospital. Jiraiya had to stay out sometimes to keep up his spy network and the illusion he was still helping only Konoha, but he made sure to spend his off time in Oto. From the toads he had spy for him in Konoha occasionally, he learned Sarutobi didn't suspect a thing and Hitomi had been replaced in the Hyuuga clan without much grief.

As for the kids they were watching over, they were getting better with their shinobi skills. Being taught by all three sannin to some degree gave them lots of things to practice and time to bond, and they need they'd be the best Oto nin ever when it was time for them. In fact, Anko, Shizune, Kabuto, Kurenai, and Yamato were all genin now, among the first genin Oto would produce. They weren't put on teams, just told to train together under the sannin and when they did real missions they'd be set up accordingly. Anko and Kabuto specialized in snake style, Shizune and Kurenai in slug style, and Yamato in toad style.

The young ones, being Naruto, Hinata, and Isaribi, were still too young to be genin for a few more years but they trained with no smaller amount of enthusiasm. Hanabi didn't as much since she was only three, but she loved to watch and imitate. Naruto was learning the most from all three sannin as expected and Isaribi was trying to catch up to him. Hinata was learning how to mix new styles of combat into the juuken to make a different fighting style completely thanks to her mother. Snake style and toad style were the best ones for them to use, and Naruto used both while Isaribi and Hinata focused mostly on snake, with Hinata combining it with the juuken to create a new original version.

So far things were working well for them all with little interference. But that would all someday change.

* * *

Jiraiya was out of the village doing some serious work and some serious-to-him research near Taki when everything happened. He had been there for two reasons, one, he thought the open baths would provide him much need inspiration, and two, Taki was the closest hidden village to Oto geographically and the next one they wanted to ally with. So he decided to check it out.

So far he hadn't seen anything yet, and that included women bathing outdoors. He was starting to wonder if he had been following a false trail. It had happened before. 'Maybe the women only do that within the village. Just my luck, since it would look bad if I tried to sneak in and how could I explain to Sarutobi what I was doing here?'

'What do you care what that old monkey thinks? Remember he kept you in the dark; you owe him nothing.' Jiraiya's inner pervert and proverbial shoulder devil told him.

'Well, you did come here to make an offer with the leader. You're not getting anywhere by hanging around the village borders suspiciously.' Jiraiya's proverbial shoulder angel commented. 'Also, maybe your spy inside will help you find the women if you go up and ask him.' Yep, even his good side was a bit perverted.

With that in mind, Jiraiya approached the waterfall and ran up it with chakra. As a sannin this was no real challenge to him, but it still required all his concentration. Once he was at the top he made for land right away and was greeted by four armed Taki guards. "My name's Jiraiya, Tell your leader Shibuki I'm here to see him. He'll know who I am."

Apparently one of the guards already knew who he was. "Ah, Jiraiya-sama, is Shibuki-sama expecting you?"

"Not really, but that's because I'm here for more than just a 'hi'." No one but him knew that the leader of Taki Shibuki was actually Jiraiya's informant for the hidden village. All because the toad sannin saved him from a wildcat one day and the cowardly leader insisted on repaying him in the most helpful and safe way. To everyone else, Jiraiya and Shibuki were just aquiantances who met each month for their own reasons.

"I'll have to escort you to him for security reasons." The guard told him, who just nodded as he was familiar with the procedure. The two walked away, leaving the remaining guards to keep watch.

* * *

"Ah Jiraiya-san, is it that time already?" Shibuki said as he said Jiraiya approach.

"Not really Shibuki-san. I've got something to discuss with you that can't be overheard by anyone." The toad sage answered.

"I see. Come with me." The two walked into a small humble hut and a silence barrier was activated. But before either could get down to business, both saw there was a third person present. "Fuu-chan, did you sneak in again?"

Jiraiya saw a young girl close to Naruto's age, maybe a year or two older. The most noticeable thing about her was her lime green hair. She wore a plain white outfit that looked dirty and torn in places and a small red bag tied on her back. Her eyes were red and they looked terrified and sad at the same time, like she had little to be happy about. Once she saw them both she grabbed a few apples and rolls off the counter and darted out of the hut like a panicked animal.

"Fuu-chan wait!" Shibuki shouted but it was too late. He sighed. "I hope this doesn't keep her away."

"Who was that?" Jiraiya asked since he never knew Shibuki had any kids.

"Her name's Fuu, no family name. She's an orphan and sort of the village urchin. Nobody wants to adopt her because of the social stigma that would come from it but some people, myself included, do leave out food and supplies for her. They usually do it in secret so they don't become social outcasts themselves."

"Why would that...?" Jiraiya started to ask, but then answered his own question with wide eyes. "She's a jinchuuriki, isn't she?"

"You never cease to amaze me Jiraiya-san." Shibuki answered. "Yeah, she's the container of the Shichibi no Kabutomushi. I never told you before for her security, but there's no helping it now."

"How... is she treated regularly?" The toad sannin almost sounded afraid to ask.

Shibuki sighed again. "Not well. No one goes out of their way to kill her, but no one really goes out of their way to make her feel welcome either. Kids and adults ignore her, refuse to talk or interact with her, even help her learn anything. It's like they're trying to ignore her to death, so she has to live like a stray cat, surviving off the few handouts from those that are afraid to do more. I'd do more but with my responsibilities I can't give her the attention she needs."

Jiraiya didn't know if he wanted to cry or vomit. But before he could ask more on the subject or bring up the matter of Oto, someone began barging on the door to the hut. And since the silencing barrier was one-way, they could hear everything. "Shibuki-sama, terrible news! Some intruders have arrived and killed the guards at the waterfall!"

Jiraiya frowned. 'Someone must have seen me. Dammit.' He looked at Shibuki who was starting to shake in fear. "I'll go take care of this. You just make sure everyone here is unharmed." He said before going outside.

People were running into their houses trying to get away from some flames and moving water, implying some jutsus being involved. In the center of the chaos he saw two black-clad shinobi wearing no hitai-ates trying to stir up trouble. Neither one looked like they were enjoying themselves though; in fact, their facial expressions (or lack thereof) almost looked painted on.

'There's gotta be more to this than just causing mayhem. Maybe they're making a scene to distract us from someone else looking for something.' Jiraiya quickly thought with his years of experience helping him plan. He created a few shadow clones and had them spread out to confirm his theory while he handled the obvious threat. It wasn't that hard once he created two rasengans to send both targets flying into some rocks hard enough to crack them. The shadow clones came back with a third unconscious intruder. 'I've got a badass idea on how to get them to talk.'

When the intruders woke up, they saw they were tied together and hanging over a pot of boiling oil. Jiraiya was standing next to it along with a giant toad he summoned to get the oil he heated up personally. A few inhabitants of Taki formed a crowd to see what was going on. "Why don't you tell me what you were up to or would you rather take a bath?"

"We'll never tell you anything." One of the tied up men replied.

The toad was holding the end of the rope and let them be lowered a little closer to the oil. Close enough that they instinctively curled their toes to avoid being burned. "Still say never?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yes."

The rope lowered them a little more so now they had to curl their legs up. "How about now?"

"We can't tell you. Our master has forbidden it and gone to great lengths to ensure we never reveal our secrets." One of the trio told him before showing his tongue and the seal placed on it.

'Hmm... so it's impossible for them to crack eh? I think it's too much of a coincidence that they showed up after me, meaning they must have been trailing me. Or maybe it is just a coincidence and they're after something in Taki. Their attack pattern tells me they were more interested in finding something than drawing me out and they weren't even prepared to fight me. If they had been trailing me they would have had some way to counter me if I noticed and fought back. So maybe they really are after somthing here in Taki?'

"Since you can't speak, I have no more use for you." Jiraiya stated before letting them get drop all the way into the oil and scream in pain. 'If I was Ibiki, I might have handled that better, but I'm not.' They weren't taken out until the screams stopped.

* * *

"So now that that's been taken care of, what was it you came here for again Jiraiya-san?" Shibuki asked once they were back inside his house and the intruders dead bodied burnes to ashes.

"What I'm about to say can't be repeated to anyone in Konoha ever, understand?"

Shibuki looked confused and then shook his head. "No not really. Aren't you from Konoha?"

"Yeah but I've been asked to make you an offer and part of the deal is that no matter what your answer is Konoha can't hear about it or the deal's off and you may gain a new enemy."

Shibuki gulped, not eager at all to gain enemies. "Ok, this will be just between us. I'm listening."

"Okay, a new village has been created and is looking to ally itself with Taki. I know the leader of it personally. Since they're close to you it would be in your interest to consider it."

"A nearby ally that can respond quickly? I like it, but is it enemies with Konoha? If the two villages were forced to fight one another what would this new one expect of us since we have a peaceful standing with Konoha?" Shibuki asked, trying to avoid putting his village in a conflicted situation.

"If it came to that you could declare yourselves neutral. Or you could support whichever side you feel has the better case. Whatever the case, if you accept you'll gain a nearby partner in combat and trade." Jiraiya's eyes slowly turned to look outside. "And also, I'm positive that little green-haired girl can gain some good friends."

"You can help Fuu-chan? How?"

"Let's just say this new village is a good place for people like her. And I know this for an undeniable fact."

Shibuki arched an eyebrow. "This new village has a jincuuriki of it's own?"

Jiraiya nodded. "And it's allied with two of the major ninja villages."

Shibuki closed his eyes and went over the facts in his head. After a minute, he opened his eyes and answered. "Very well Jiraiya-san. You've never steered me wrong before and I have no reason to doubt you now. Tell the leader of this particular village that Taki will consider them an ally. But, there are two things I'd like you to do for me."

"Ok, shoot."

"First, what's the name of this village, and how old is it's jinchuuriki?" Shibuki asked.

"Otogakure, and six."

"Six huh? Well that's good. For the second thing, I want you to have Fuu-chan spend some time with them. Hopefully that will be what it takes to get her to open up people and learn to socialize."

'Like with Gaara eh?' Jiraiya thought. "Ok, but for how long?"

"As long as it takes."


	17. Bloodlines

_A writer named Kevinwoopoo suggested a weapon that I may use later on in this story, when the time is right. If you need ideas for weapons for your own fics check out his profile and be sure to check out his poll so he can get more ideas._

Ch. 17 Bloodlines

The day had finally come that the three sannin were waiting for. It was Naruto's ninth birthday, and the day he acquired nine different kekkei genkai from the kyuubi. They had told him and his friends about this on his eighth birthday so he could spend a year thinking of some ideas. Of course the sannin had some of their own, but since he ultimately was the decider he needed to observe several to get a good idea of how they worked and how to be creative with them.

For the past year Naruto studied kekkei genkais of all sort, in books or by talking with the inhabitants of Oto personally. Most were willing to share some info with him since they knew he was close to all three sannin and they owed their lives to the trio that got them out of Kiri. Naruto learned that every one of the known bloodlines had some strengths and weaknesses and limits, so he knew he had to keep all that in mind. There was no perfect bloodline, just handy ones.

For this day, a few had gathered to see this interesting acquiring of power. Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro came from Suna, all aware of Naruto's jinchuuriki status. Fuu came as well, although for all basic purposes the girl practically lived in Oto by now. Very little had changed about her social status in Taki even when she went back, so Shibuki let her have a semi-permanent home in Oto too as long as she came back from time to time. By the time she became genin she would have to declare one village a full-time home and the council in Taki was looking to force her to decide in their favor. If only to keep 'their' jinchuuriki in check.

Everyone who resided in the Oto tower came to see this as well. Even a few who didn't reside there wanted to see. Two of Oto's chuunin guards Kimimaro and Tayuya attended while the rest stayed at their posts. These two guards were Naruto's favorites and the ones he spent the most time with. Since Oto had yet to participate in any actual chuunin exams they were only ranked chuunin because Orochimaru saw fit to give them that rank. Another one of his friends Haku showed up, along with her mother and stepfather, since he got to know her when he asked about her clan's kekkei genkai. He also found out that she and her mother were the last remaining users of it, since her biological father turned them all in to the mizukage for a profit. Or he could have just killed them for fun. Naruto felt bad for her and has been her good friend ever since.

Everyone had gathered in one of the large underground rooms with Naruto in the center. They were giving him some space in case the kyuubi's chakra acted up. "You ready for this Naruto?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yes Ero-jisan. You sure this will work?" Naruto asked, since the initial plan was for him to just try and contact the kyuubi on his own. Even tough he had yet to do that so far.

"Not entirely. But it's worth a shot."

"Great advice Jiraiya." Tsunade sarcastically mumbled. "You're such an inspiration."

Naruto sighed and closed his eyes. "Here goes nothing. Wish me luck."

He heard them all whisper it, then nothing. After a bit it was too quiet. 'Something must be wrong.' He opened his eyes, but saw a large cage instead of the room he was supposed to be in.

Two red eyes appeared from behind the bars of the cage. "Ah, so it's finally that time. Good."

"You're the kyuubi right?" Naruto asked, not that afraid since he had been prepared for this.

"Indeed. And you must know why you're here."

"Yep. I've been waiting for this day for about a year." Naruto answered. "And I won't end up like Fuu-chan did."

As the jinchuuriki for the shichibi, Fuu should have received seven kekkei genkais on her seventh birthday. However, she didn't know about this until that exact date and didn't get in touch with the shichibi in time to do all that. She did at least have enough time to bargain for one kekkei genkai, and that was enough to ensure the shichibi wouldn't die with her, but she still felt cheated. At least like with Gaara, who also only had one, she didn't have to worry about the time limits Naruto would have to. And with only one rather than seven, Taki couldn't force her to breed with multiple men later on.

It looked like the large fox was grinning. "I've been waiting quite a while longer. So let's make a deal shall we? Nine kekkei genkai's in exchange for me being able to leave your body safely when you finally do die." 'Sure it means I'll have a long wait ahead of me, but it's so much better than dying with him.'

"Sounds good to me. And I've already got all nine chosen."

"Then tell me about them one at a time and I can make the changes happen. And the more detailed the better." Kyuubi told him. 'Wonder how that mark will factor in, if at all.'

"Okay then, here's the first one."

* * *

Everyone watching Naruto mediate waited for a while and then tensed up when they saw a faint red glow around his body. Their initial impulse was to snap him out of it but a sense of calm remained in the air and on Naruto's face, averting their concern. The glow remained for nine minutes even and the only sign of discomfort was a brief look of pain on the young boy's face for about half a minute.

Once the glow faded, Naruto opened his eyes. "I think that's it."

"Do you feel any different?" Hinata asked with much concern.

"Not really, except for this weird itch on my shoulder." Naruto answered as he scratched where his curse mark was. "Do I look any different?" Everyone shook their head negatively. "Hey Ero-jisan, can you take a look at this? The fox said the mark might be gone now."

Everyone in the room familiar with the curse mark perked up at hearing this. For years the sannin were trying to get a better understanding of it and a cure for it. So far no such luck, although with a few notes they salvaged from the creator Amachi they did at least learn the source was the blood of a young boy named Juugo. He had no known family but he had a kekkei genkai that made him shapeshift into a more feral form when he was aggravated to fight, which he didn't enjoy. Juugo was currently contained in a holding cell to ensure he did no harm, which he preferred. But even with him contained, they were still no closer to finding a way to be rid of the mark.

Jiraiya went up to the young boy and checked his shoulder. "It is. It's gone!" He gasped. "But how?"

Naruto shrugged. "Dunno. The fox said something about his own power overpowering it when he made the changes."

"Can it do the same for us?" Kurenai asked.

"Most likely not." Tsunade gently answered. "Remember Naruto's system is used to the kyuubi's chakra so he can use it without being too hurt but you probably wouldn't be able to handle it. Also I'm getting the impression that it wasn't an intended effect so we still wouldn't know what to do even if it was safe."

Kurenai sighed in resignation while Anko ignored the issue. "So tell us otouto, which ones did you get?" No one knew which kekkei genkais the blonde was going to select.

"Some goods ones. Even the fox was impressed at most of them."

Orochimaru grinned. "Why don't you show us instead of tell us?" He then created a shadow clone to serve as the boy's test dummy.

"Okay then, here's number one." Naruto stated as he got up to his feet. He closed his eyes, then everyone saw veins bulge around them, making three girls in the room drop their jaws. When he opened his eyes, everyone saw they were white like the byakugan, but the small visible pupil was shaped like a four-point star if one looked close enough. "I call this one the Neo-Byakugan."

"How's it different than our own?" Hitomi asked.

"I can't see as far as you can, but I can see in sharper detail and I can see more of a person's insides than just their chakra network."

Tsunade looked impressed. 'Interesting, perfect eyes for a surgeon or someone looking to use pressure points. Any descendants who inherit those eyes would make great tracker and medic shinobi.'

"Number two..." Naruto said before closing his eyes again. The veins receded and when he reopened, his eyes were bright orange and had two tomoes in them, spinning in a counterclockwise direction. "Neo-Sharingan."

Orochimaru's grin widened. "Our own version of the sharingan? Not bad, but how is this one different?"

"Well, instead of hypnotizing other people or casting genjutsus, I can break hypnotism and other genjutsus with this. And I don't have to kill someone important to upgrade them; instead I have to save a precious life, not end one. Kyuubi seemed really insistent on things like this, saying he had personal issues with the normal sharingan. But other than that, it should be the same." One thing he didn't know was that with the kyuubi's chakra in him, he wouldn't have to worry about going blind later.

'So Oto will be able to have an Uchiha-like family, but with more incentives to help others? Nice.' Jiraiya thought with a light grin.

Naruto returned his eyes to normal. "Number three..." No one noticed any physical changes, but he did three quick hand signs and Orochimaru's clone got frozen solid. "Hyoton. But I couldn't think of anything different so I kept it the same as Haku-chan's. I figured we could use more ice wielders."

"Thank you for the consideration Naruto-kun." Haku's mother told him.

Orochimaru dispelled his clone and the ice around it shattered on the ground before he made another one. "Go on Naruto."

"Okay, here's number four." He made a few more handsigns and Orochimaru's clone became entangled in tree roots. "I went with the mokuton but made it so girls can use it too. Now Baa-chan doesn't have to worry about it dying out." Tsunade smiled warmly at the boy. Even though Yamato had already proven he could use the mokuton, they always feared he couldn't pass it down to his descendants since it wasn't naturally his.

Orochimaru got rid of this clone and Jiraiya got rid of the roots with a small fire jutsu. A new clone was made and Naruto was ready to show off his fifth kekkei genkai. He made some hand signs, and the next thing anyone saw was Orochimaru's clone being skewered by several large needles sticking out of the ground. "Tetsuton, because few people have ever encountered the metal sub-element and it's a great way to make weapons for myself and my allies."

A new clone was made and the metal spikes were taken away to be given to a smith shop for forging. Naruto got ready to show off his sixth gift. "That's the last of the elemental stuff. Number six starts off a list of a few new things." He did a few handsigns and then Orochimaru's clone started levitating in the air. Everyone looked in awe, and then it fell to the ground and looked like it was being crushed by a rock.

When it dispelled, Orochimaru's memories showed a sense of immense weightlessness and then too much weight. "Naruto, what was that?"

"Gravity Control. Basically I can make things or people weigh less or more, and if I do it the right way I can even make myself or others fly, but I'm in complete control. Handy for moving things around, and helpful in battle if the enemy is unbalanced or too heavy to move." Naruto explained.

"Wow, how practical. Good one." Temari answered, especially loving the flying part since she was trying to work on using wind that way.

"Can someone fill in for me here?" Orochimaru asked. "Don't want to use too much chakra." He may be a sannin, but even he didn't have the chakra amounts to repetitively use the clone jutsu.

"Sure." Jiraiya said before making his own clone. "Do your worst kid."

"Okay. Number seven is like this." The color on his body seemed to pale, not as much as the snake sannin, and his hair went white like it had been bleached. "For this one, I need your clone to hit me."

"What?" Everyone asked, not expecting that.

"Just try to hit me. You'll understand then. And make it a good one."

"O... kay then." Jiraiya's clone said before balling up a fist and aiming it for the nine year old, even though he wasn't trying to hurt him. He aimed for the shoulder and the impact should have been no more harmful than a spanking. But instead of making a connection, the clone's fist actually went _thru _the boy's shoulder, like he wasn't really there. The surprise and sudden off-balance made the duplicate toad sage fall facefirst on the ground, again passing thru Naruto's body.

Everyone looked at Naruto like they had just seen a ghost, making him smile. "Ghost Body. Makes everything go thru me and lets me walk thru walls." He then suddenly vanished into thin air. "And I can become invisible too. Great for close-up spying and wearing the opponent out or scaring them."

"Wait, Naruto, get visible again and try and hit Jiraiya." Tsunade told him. He did just that but his fist went right thru the clone's body too. "Guess the one drawback is you can't fight back."

"Not unless I become solid again." Naruto said before he became tangible and blonde again. "Okay, for the eight one, I need Hinata-chan and Haku-chan to come here instead."

"Why?" Both girl's mothers asked, not that they believed he'd really hurt them.

"Let's just say none of the sannin are exactly good testers for this one. Hinata-chan and Haku-chan are perfect." The boy answered.

Without waiting for their mother's approval, both aforementioned girls walked up to him with kind grins. Both trusted the boy with their lives and showed no amount of fear. "What do you want us to do Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.

Naruto suddenly gained red rings around his eyes much like Gaara had. "Try and use your own kekkei genkai to attack me."

The two girls shared a look before giving him an 'if you insist' look. Hinata used the handsigns needed to activate the byakugan when the user was still young and inexperienced, while Haku tried a short set to create some ice senbon. The two finished at the same time, but nothing happened. "What the heck?" Haku asked herself before trying again, only to get the same results. "What did you just do?"

"Number eight, Unbloodline." Naruto answered. "Anyone within ten meters of me who has a kekkei genkai becomes unable to use it. The red around my eyes is there to alert my allies if they have one so they can get some distance."

"Not bad, considering how most ninja who have a kekkei genkai become dependent on it for their fighting style. Good way to handicap some of your opponents." Jiraiya thought out loud. 'And even if his enemy doesn't have a kekkei genkai, he has several others to use.'

"For my last one, I'd like Baa-chan personally to step up and test this out." Naruto said as the red around his eyes faded. "Trust me on this one Baa-chan. I think you more than anyone else will appreciate this one." When he finished he gained two thin black streaks down his face under his eyes much like Jiraiya.

Hinata and Haku stepped out of the way while Tsunade stepped towards him, wondering what would happen to her that he didn't want demonstrated on a clone. She kept a cautious eye on him as he stepped forward and quickly poked her hand. "What the hell was that ab...?" She started to ask before she felt a light tickle spread over her body and she started feeling more rejuvenated for some reason. But she got worried once she saw she was actually getting shorter. "What did you just do to me?" Her voice sounded different now, and when she looked around the room, she saw everyone had wide eyes but only her teammates had dropped jaws.

"Anyone got a mirror?" Naruto asked.

No one did, but Haku's mother was able to make one out of ice and showed Tsunade her reflection. Now her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. She looked exactly like she did when she was a genin, down to the last detail, even bust size, with her clothes practically hanging off her since they didn't change. "What did you just do?"

"The ninth kekkei genkai, Age Control. All I have to do is touch someone, and I can make them as old as I want or as young as I want. And it doesn't wear off. You'll stay like that until I make you get older or you simply grow older naturally. Perfect for disabling opponents if they're too young or old to fight back the way they're used to, or help out our own guys by making them the right age to fight." Naruto explained.

'I won't have to wear a henge all the time anymore? That's great!' Tsunade thought to herself.

'I won't have to die of old age someday? Terrific!' Orochimaru thought to himself.

'Maybe if he makes me younger I'll be more appealing to the ladies.' Jiraiya thought to himself.

"Hey Naruto, can you make me older again? How about 29?" Tsunade asked.

"Sure." Naruto said before touching her hand and making her become a 29 year old woman again. "Jiisan? Ero-jichan? You guys wanna become younger again?"

"Heck yeah!" Both answered together for different reasons.

By the end of the day all three sannin were back in their prime and Oto had it's secret weapon, waiting to become an official shinobi.


	18. Council

__

Time skip forward to when the canon story would have started. Everything before now was basically a long prologue.

Ch. 18 Council

"Congratulations, you are now all officially genin of Otogakure. And with the recent changes made by Otokage-sama, you are possibly the first generation of Oto shinobi to be able to make a name for yourselves and our village." The chuunin instructor at the academy told the small classroom filled with a few hitai-ate-wearing teens. The symbol on each plate was a musical note.

Oto had been around for about ten years now, nine-and-a-half to be more accurate, and while they had been training ninja of all ranks, they still operated in absolute secrecy within Land of Rice only. About four months ago, Orochimaru overturned that policy and told everyone that Oto ninja could tell what their home was and wear their hitai-ates on missions if they wanted to, but they still couldn't tell anyone where exactly the village was located. And since then they had been able to take missions within Land of Wind and Land of Earth too. But soon they would be known everywhere. Orochimaru probably made the point across best as "It's time for the Sound to be heard."

The instructor started listing off the teams. Only two of them were of any particular interest to one student, a thirteen year old Naruto. "Team 1 will consist of Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hibiki, and Isaribi Meikai. Your sensei will be Anko Mitarashi. Team 2 will consist of Zaku Abumi, Dosu Kinuta, and Kin Tsuchi. Your sensei will be Kabuto Yakushi." The rest of the list was just noise to him, however short it was.

Hinata, who was sitting right next to him, smiled and hugged him from the side. "Can you believe it Naru-kun? We're on the same team!" She said in a whisper, barely containing her joy.

"Terrific. Who do you think was the one to decide on that? Your mom, or Jii-san?" He whispered back.

"Does it matter?"

"No, guess not."

Elsewhere in the room, a purple-haired girl and a brown-haired girl looked at the young couple with envy. 'Great, she gets to be with him even more? Now I'll never have a chance to get closer to him.'

* * *

"You know what we gotta do today, right?" Tsunade asked Orochimaru with Jiraiya in the room too.

"Yeah, I didn't forget. Let's save it for after he gets done with the second test for genin."

"Won't that be saved for tomorrow though?" Jiraiya asked.

Orochimaru smirked. "Usually, but Anko-chan's the one testing him. And you know she won't wait. Or go easy on him either."

"At least not too easily." Tsunade corrected.

* * *

Two hours later Tsunade saw a battered and bruised Naruto walking down the hall to his room. He looked like he had just been in a fight with a small but pissed off bear. 'Yep, that's Anko's style all right.' She thought with a small grin. "Hey Naruto, feeling okay?"

"I'm fine. I've been thru worse." He said, feigning his well-being.

'Sad thing is I can actually believe that.' Tsunade grimly thought. "Just so you know, me and the others want you to come down to the council meeting room in an hour. Bring Hinata with you so we can discuss this with her too, but we'll talk to you two one at a time with you first."

"No problem. I'm going to go lay down now." The young boy replied before going into his room and crashing on his bed.

'Poor boy's got a tough road ahead of him. But I'm sure he'll do just fine.' Tsunade commented to herself before walking away.

* * *

"Any idea what this is all about?" Hinata asked as she and Naruto approached the door to the council room. Both had recovered from their little test at Anko's hands, but only Naruto was at 100% now.

"Not at all. But I doubt it's bad news." Naruto answered. "Hey, maybe they're offering some sort of betrothal contract between us?"

Hinata blushed. "I was thinking the same thing. Okaa-san keeps saying she might do something like that when we're older."

Naruto and Hinata were probably the best known young couple in all of Oto. While Naruto was seen with lots of female friends, Hinata was apparently the only one he had ever been romantic with or even kissed. She was his only official girlfriend, and while all the other girls could accept that, many of them were jealous of Hinata.

Shizune walked out of the room and smiled when she saw the two of them. "Good, right on time. Ready Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah." He then gave Hinata a brief kiss on her cheek before walking away with Shizune. "Be right back."

The council room was filled with members of both sides. Like Konoha, there were shinobi members and an equal member of civilian members. But unlike Konoha, the number was smaller, with five members for both sides. And their authority was kept in check to ensure they didn't act like they were the ones in charge. For example, the civilian members couldn't call meetings if the subject of it was ninja-based. And the ninja members weren't allowed to make laws specifically for their own clans unless it was a matter of village security.

There were two reasons the council of Oto was smaller than the one in Konoha. One, having a smaller council meant making decisions would be much easier. And two, there were fewer ninja clans in Oto. Sure, several came from Kiri, but some people who weren't in great shape didn't survive the long trip due to trouble along the way. Also when Oto made alliances with Suna, Iwa, and Taki, they gave each village a clan or two in exchange for better trade and a promise of being hired for missions when they were ready. So now Oto was down to six clans total.

The six clans were the following: the Kaguya, a bone-wielding clan with brutal fighting styles, the Fuuma, a clan native to Land of Rice with various techniques, the Momochi, an ice-weilding clan from Kiri formerly known under a different name, the Onigumo, a clan of people with six arms and spiderlike abilities, the Sakuya, a twin-favoring clan with a body-merging kekkei genkai, and the Hibiki, which was really the three renamed Hyuugas. Technically the Momochi and Hibiki didn't really count as clans since their numbers were so small, but the Momochi, the more established of the two, were allowed a seat on the council to prevent ties in votes. The Hibiki would get a seat when their numbers increased.

At the head of the room were the three sannin. Orochimaru was the acting kage and overall tie-breaker. Tsunade was the representative of the civilian side since she worked at Oto's hospitals and Jiraiya was the representative of the ninja side, when he was actually in town. In his absence Kabuto was the representative.

"Hello everyone. What can I do for you?" Naruto politely greeted. Usually he could get away with being unorthodox, but Tsunade made sure he knew when and how to show proper respect and this was one of those times. Also the relatives of three of his friends were on this council and he didn't want to look dishonorable in front of them.

"Just sit down and hear what we have to tell you Naruto-kun." Orochimaru told him. When the boy was seated he continued. "From what I recently heard from Anko-chan, you're now officially a genin of Oto. And that means we need to tell you something rather important regarding your future in the village."

"I can still become Otokage someday right?" Naruto nervously asked. His dream was to become Otokage someday, preferably the nidaime, which Tsunade was currently the candidate for if something happened to Orochimaru.

"Oh this won't interfere with your goal. Not too much at least. But it may make things a little more difficult for you." Orochimaru answered. "Naruto-kun, as you are aware, you currently hold nine kekkei genkai's in your blood. And each of your descendants will only be able to inherit one. With that in mind, we have something we need you to do."

"Yeah? What is it?" Naruto asked.

"You must have children with nine different women, allowing each of them to pass on one of your kekkei genkai's each. Preferably at least one son each. Not exactly the CRA, more of a Clan Creation Act."

Naruto looked blindsided. "No, I can't do that."

"Why not?" Jiraiya asked.

"It wouldn't be fair to Hina-chan. I know she'd have no problem having a family with me later on, but to make her share me with eight other girls would be wrong for her. I can't do that to her." Naruto answered.

Jiraiya groaned mentally. 'Great. The one person in the country who's being told to have multiple women, and he's a one-woman man. Oh where did I go wrong?'

"Naruto, as admirable as that is in a man, there's something else you need to consider about this." Tsunade spoke up. "Each of your kekkei genkai is a gift that should be able to help us out for generations, not just until you die. To do that, you would basically need to have at least nine kids, each inheriting a different one. Having one woman bear nine children or more is actually hazardous to her."

"But what about surrogate mothers?" Naruto asked. "That way you get the numbers you want and I don't betray my girlfriend."

"Consider genetics too." Tsunade added. "One way to help the clans thrive is genetic variety. If there's little genetic difference between them, we may run the risk of inbreeding in the future. We believe that the kekkei genkai you supply will affect your sperm enough so that the paternal DNA will be different between any two children with different bloodlines, thus the potential for inbreeding will be significantly reduced. If the maternal DNA is identical it could pose problems."

Naruto looked a little bothered. "Do you actually think my kids would commit incest?"

"What? No, of course not. What I meant was that if you succeed in creating several clans, the population of Oto will increase substantially within a few decades. And if a good portion of the village's population is significantly genetically linked, then the only options would be inbreeding, extinction, or bringing in foreign genes to increase the variety which isn't guaranteeable. What we're suggesting for you is the best way to avoid such a problem." Tsunade explained.

Naruto didn't look too convinced. "Even so, if Hina-chan says no then so will I. I will not hurt her like that."

"In that case, what would you do if she says yes?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruto didn't have a ready answer for that. 'What would I do? Would Hina-chan even consider the possibility? Wouldn't it still be unfair to her even if she consented? I don't know what to think.' All he said was "I don't know."

"Naruto, all we're asking is that you at least consider the possibility. We can't make you do this if it makes you uncomfortable. Well, we could but it wouldn't be right. But remember, would you really be more comfortable reducing your girlfriend to being little more than a baby-factory like Kumo would have done? At least with other women to help out you can take the strain off her." Orochimaru added.

Naruto hung his head as he let this all sink in. "Do you need a decision anytime soon?"

"No, take your time. If you would like to go somewhere private and think this over, you may. And on your way out, tell your girlfriend to come inside so we can inform her of this as well. You are dismissed." Orochimaru answered.

"Thank you." Naruto politely said as he stood up and left, his face showing several signs of discomfort.

After he left the room, Hinata walked in and took a seat where he had been. Her own expression showed she was mildly nervous. "Hello honorable councilmen. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Hinata-san, as we all are aware, you are in a relationship with Naruto-kun. How serious would you say it is?" Orochimaru asked to get things started.

The former Hyuuga blushed deeply at the question. "I thought you already knew that. I love him and have told him several times. And he's said it to me before too."

"I'm glad to hear that, but it makes what we're going to tell you all that much harder then." Orochimaru said. "In case you aren't already aware of this, Naruto's many bloodlines are a boon for this village. And we have a responsibility to ensure they stay around for generations. Which is why we feel it's best in the long run if Naruto-kun were to have offspring with multiple women. Nine total preferably."

Hinata looked stunned. "You want him to what?"

Tsunade was the one to answer her. "We feel that it's best if Naruto were to have children with several different women, as it would help his kekkei genkai's flourish in the village. You must know that if you were the only mother of them, that would require you to have at least nine children, which would be dangerous to your body. So basically you have only two real options, allow your boyfriend to have eight mistresses or use eight surrogate mothers. You can try to have them all yourself but we strongly recommend otherwise. And just so you know, Naruto doesn't want to hurt you so if you say no to the whole idea he will too."

Hinata sat there and went over it all. 'They want me to share Naru-kun with eight others? Well, it's not like I can't think of a few candidates that would be glad too, but still, Naru-kun is supposed to be mine. How can I be special to him if I'm just one of nine?'

"One more thing you should know Hinata." Jiraiya added, regaining the girl's attention. "Your mother and the three of us did write up a betrothal contract between you and Naruto stating that you'd be the one true wife whether or not you agree to this. So you won't have to worry about being less important in Naruto's eyes. If you accept the contract that is."

Hinata's eyes lit up, but she still didn't look convinced. She looked at all of the other council members. "Do you all support this idea?" They all nodded. "Which do you support more, the mistresses or the surrogates?"

All five of the shinobi council members supported the mistress notion. Three members of the civilian side supported it too but two of them voted in favor of surrogate mothers. The three sannin said they felt the mistress idea was the smarter one overall. Hinata sighed in defeat. "Can I at least think this over?"

Everyone nodded. "Take your time. And discuss this with Naruto-kun too since he feels bothered by the whole thing as well. You are dismissed." Orochimaru told her.

Hinata slowly walked out of the room and without realizing it went to Naruto's room, where she saw him sitting on his bed looking out the window. She sat down next to him, alerting him to her presence. "They told you?" He asked, and she nodded slowly. "I don't want to betray you."

She kissed his cheek softly. "I know. I never thought otherwise. I just don't know what we should do about it."


	19. Confusion

Ch. 19 Confusion

Later that night, Hinata ate dinner with just her mother and sister. Normally she would have invited Naruto to celebrate becoming a genin, and Isaribi and Anko too, but she had something she wanted to discuss with her family in private. She just wasn't sure how to bring it up.

"Something wrong Nee-san?" Hanbi asked. "You've barely touched your curry."

"Just got a lot on my mind imouto-chan." Hinata told her sister.

"I bet I know what." Hitomi briefly mentioned before taking a bite of her own curry.

"Okaa-san, what do you think of the whole idea?" Hinata suddenly asked.

"Which one?" Hitomi asked. She wasn't toying with her daughter; instead she was referring to the fact they were two issues bound to be on Hinata's mind: the multiple women issue and the betrothal contract. The problem was which one was she more focused on?

"You know which one." Hinata said with her eyes beginning to narrow.

"Hanabi, why don't you go eat in another room please?" Hitomi asked her younger daughter.

Hanabi's gaze darted between her mother and sister, as if trying to deduce what was going on between them. She sighed and stood up with her plate. "Okay. Let me know when you're done."

When she left, Hitomi decided to address the most likely thing on Hinata's mind. "I understand that the idea may bother you Hinata, but I've thought it over several dozen times and I can safely say I agree with the sannin's decision."

"Why?" Hinata quietly asked. "You know me and Naru-kun are close. Why would you try something that might ruin it?"

"In all fairness, the first time the idea was mentioned was when you and Naruto-kun were only six years old. You two were only just friends then. I wasn't so sure how serious you two would come along; how could I? But haven't you noticed how I always taught you to accept his other female friends and not get jealous and possessive of him? Even share your time with him to avoid appearing domineering?"

Hinata arched her eyebrows. "So you said all that hoping when this day came I'd have no problem sharing him?"

"Somewhat, but not entirely. Even if Naruto-kun was limited to one woman only, it would still be a good idea for that one woman to allow him to have friends of his own choosing. I mean, you wouldn't like it if Naruto-kun told you you couldn't have any male friends outside him right?"

"No, but still, you're all asking me to share Naruto with others and why exactly should I say yes?" Hinata asked, currently unable to make eye contact with her mother.

"For one very good reason Hinata." Hitomi answered as seriously as possible. "Let me explain. Naruto-kun has to have nine children for the village. Now that's a minimum, not a maximum. Let's say you keep him all to yourself. That would mean you'd basically be pregnant nonstop for almost a whole decade. That's a huge burden on your body and a huge responsibility. And let's say you use surrogate mothers to take the load off. That would result in you and Naruto having to raise nine babies all at once, rather than one at a time. Maybe having friends or family, or even a nanny help you out, would be a way to deal with it, but that's still a rather daunting task. And tough on your finances too."

"Now consider the idea that you allow eight other women to have children with Naruto-kun that are their very own. One, it takes the burden of multiple births off you. Two, it gives the village the numbers and genetic variety it needs for the idea. And three, if they're the real mothers, they'll help in raising the children, just like nannies but for free and they'll be able to provide more income for raising them which trust me is a big help in motherhood. Also, you'd only have the pressure of being the mother of one child rather than all nine, which will be good for your health and sanity. Sure, the cost of such a good option is having to share Naruto-kun intimately, so that's why I insisted on the betrothal contact for you two. That way, you've be the one official wife, the 'alpha-female' so to speak. The way I see it, it's really the best option for you."

Hinata's shoulders trembled and her fingers twitched, making it look like she was having a mild nervous breakdown. After a moment she stopped moving and sighed before giving her mother a tired look. "When you put it that way, I really don't have a choice but to agree."

"I'm sorry if it feels like I'm trying to pressure you." Hitomi added softly.

"It's okay. You're my mother and only want what's best for me. This may not be a perfect solution, but it's still the lesser of several evils I guess." Hinata's eyes then got a stern look in them. "But still, I'm not going to let just any girl be with him."

* * *

That same night, when Naruto went inside his bedroom, he was really surprised to see Hinata waiting for him on his bed. "Hi... Hina-chan, what are you doing here?" He was really trying to block out the perverted explanations that went thru his mind just then.

"Naru-kun, we need to talk." She said in a calm voice that held a hint of dread in it. He sat down next to her and gently held her hand, calming her nerves. "Naru-kun, I know what the council and Otokage asked of you this afternoon, and... I've had some time to think over it all."

"I've been thinking it over too. It sure is a big thing." He commented.

"Yeah, it is. I know it doesn't sound so great at first, but when I think about all the possible things we can do about it, and the consequences, I get the feeling that what the council suggested really is... the best idea. So, if you want, I'll... I'll share you with eight other girls." She then looked right into his eyes. "But only on two conditions."

"Umm... what?" Naruto asked.

"One, we accept the betrothal contract first and I become your one true wife. That way, I'm the only one who takes on your name, I'm the one who claims your virginity, and I'm the first one to have your child. And two, we both decide who the other girls are. If I have to share my future husband, I have a right to have a say in who I'm sharing him with." Hinata insisted.

"Fair enough." Naruto replied. He was actually surprised Hinata was going to let this happen. "You sure you're okay with this?"

"Am I okay with this? Not really. To be honest I wish it would be just you and me and we'd get to have two or three kids when we're older. But that's not what can happen. So we gotta make the best of this situation." When she finished she rested her head on his chest and he placed his arm on her shoulder.

The two thirteen year old's just sat there in silence for a bit, nothing needing to be said just then. But after a bit, Naruto did say something. "Hina-chan, I just thought of something. You said you wanted to accept the contract, but when exactly did you want us to... become married?" He hadn't been told about the betrothal contract in his meeting, but Tsunade had informed him afterwards. It was designed to ensure that no girl had a legal claim to being Naruto's wife other than Hinata. If they accepted it, they were instantly engaged, and if not, any other girl could try and claim him for their husband. Not that they were likely to succeed, but they could still try.

"Umm... not sure. Part of me wants to say right away, since as registered ninja we can now, but another part of me wants to wait until we're closer to chuunin. I definitely don't want us to try having any kids before then."

"I was thinking the same thing." Naruto stated. "Also, I hate to bring this up, but... how exactly do we handle the... umm... other girls?"

Hinata slowly turned to look right at her boyfriend, but her gaze held no hostility to his question. "Well, I'm thinking we don't just announce this to the village. I think we should only accept girls that genuinely care about you and if we make this public there's no way of knowing if they really do. Let's see who shows signs of care for you without knowing this. I can already think of a few who might fit the bill."

"To be honest, so can I." Naruto hesitantly added.

"Really? Who?" Hinata asked.

He was afraid to answer, but felt trapped. "Ah... I think... Haku-chan, Fuu-chan, and Sasame-chan would at least like to hear the option."

Hinata didn't look bothered like he half-expected her to. "I think Isaribi-chan and Kin-chan would as well."

"So... assuming they all say yes, that means we already have five girls selected and three more to. But I guess we don't need to be in any hurry." Naruto thought aloud.

"Good. I want us to have some time for just us anyway." Hinata commented and added a small kiss on his cheek. "I may have to share you, but that doesn't mean I have to do it from the beginning."

* * *

The next morning, Naruto and Hinata met up in the tower's private training area to meet their sensei and teammate. Anko was already there sitting next to a tree that was often used for target practice, and Isaribi was sitting down with her feet in the water. "Hi you two. Don't tell me you already got down to business so soon?" Anko teased the young couple as they entered her sight.

Even though he was used to his surrogate sister's teasing, Naruto still got red from her comment. "Nee-chan!"

Hinata meanwhile noticed Isaribi gave the blonde a longing look that said many things, one being 'why can't I be the one with him?' and another being 'I really hope our sensei is wrong'. Her own thoughts on this were 'Maybe we should approach her first.'

"Back to business." Anko said as she stood up before her team. "As you may have figured from yesterday, I'm not going to go easy on you just because we've known each other for a long time. Once you decided to become shinobi that meant you were ready to handle a life of pain and danger. My job is to make sure you don't become victims, and what better way to do that then have the strength to fight back against anything that tries to make you it's bitch?"

"Now, since I already know you've all received some training from the sannin, that gives you a good advantage over other genin and lets me know where you already stand. I've found something for all three of you to work on individually for the time being." Anko continued, then looked at Naruto. "You otouto so far seem the hardest." Thanks to the sannin's help he already knew the shadow clones, rasengan, and basic medical ninjutsu. Finding something new for him wasn't going to be simple. "I'll get you more focused on chakra control first since you're still a little rough around the edges there. But soon I promise I'll have something fun for you."

He smiled, and Anko turned to Hinata. "You're the second hardest, but I'm sure I can help you get a better handle on your taijutsu and maybe improve it a little." Then she faced Isaribi. "You're the easiest simply because you have the most room to grow. I'll start you out with something simple to see what kind of progress you can make."

Anko then looked around as if suspecting someone was watching. When she was satisfied there was none, she looked back to Hinata and Isaribi. "And one more thing, I'm also going to help you two with your mark. You two can already use the first stage right?" The two girls nodded and activated their marks to show they could. Hinata was covered in lines that looked like teardrops in a chain-link fashion, while Isaribi was covered with gentle wavy lines that gave the impression of a current on her skin. Anko smirked and activated her own mark, making it look like many small snakes were covering her. "Good. Now I'm going to help you learn to use it in a real battle and maybe someday access stage two."

"Aren't we supposed to wait until we're jounin for that?" Isaribi asked.

Since Orochimaru couldn't figure out how to get rid of the mark, only create it, he settled on a plan regarding it. He offered the mark to all his jounin level shinobi, telling them the benefits and costs and letting it be completely voluntary. It was actually accepted rather well by almost all the jounin, and all who had it formed the village defense unit similar to Konoha's Anbu. In Oto, they were known as the Altos. Tsunade was a little uncomfortable about this, but Orochimaru pointed out it wasn't much different than Hoshi and their Kujaku arts. This would the secret technique of Oto that no other village could easily predict or counter.

"Normally yes, but considering how we got our marks the rules have to be a little bent for us." Anko answered. "Think of it as our squads secret weapon. Naruto's second source of chakra should be our last resort."

"How am I going to be able to handle it properly?" Naruto asked.

"We got some scrolls written for you by Roshi-san and Han-san from Iwa. They've got lots of info for you to handle Kyuubi's chakra in case you resort to it. Hopefully your bloodlines will prevent that, but it can happen so we'll be prepared. But for now, let's get started on the first lesson: Treewalking." Anko finished.


	20. Leizure

Ch. 20 Leizure

Team training with Anko could probably best be described as voluntary torture. No matter what exercise she had her students learn, she always found a way to make it potentially lethal to them. The treewalking technique, which all three already knew before they even graduated, had a barrage of kunai thrown at them with venomous snakes hidden in the trees as well. The waterwalking exercise, which was new to them and taught in the second week, was pretty much the same thing. Then she made them try it on a moving current.

Anko almost refused to let them do any D-Rank missions. She kept insisting their time could be better used to focus on training directly rather than indirectly. But she did let them try one at least once a week to give them some money to have fun with. Hinata and Isaribi didn't mind too much because it gave them both a chance to be around their favorite guy. And while Isaribi felt she couldn't be with him the way she wanted to, she was at least glad she was on his team rather than another of his fangirls.

After their eleventh day of training, where they were all expected to use kunais to hit targets while they were upside down, while said targets fired senbon back at them. Anko was really hardcore when it came to training apparently. But afterwards, with a small amount of injuries, Hinata and Isaribi had a moment alone. Naruto was currently spending some time with Tayuya since he enjoyed giving her some company while she guarded one of Oto's gates. She also enjoyed his company too, as he was the only one to make her laugh and appreciated her dirty jokes.

Hinata and Isaribi were relaxing in the pool of the tower, both wearing bikinis since that's all they had in an effort to catch Naruto's eye. And both were orange too, although they kept saying it was just coincidence. At the moment Hinata was just floating lazily on her back while Isaribi was swimming around completely submerged, just the way she liked it.

When Isaribi came up for air, which seemed like once every five minutes but was more like every three, Hinata decided to bring up the issue on her mind. "Hey Isaribi-chan, got a moment?"

"Sure Hinata-chan. What's up?"

"Well, awhile ago me and Naru-kun were told to do something by the council and Otokage-sama. It involves getting eight other girls into the plan. And you're the first girl I can think of that might enjoy this." Hinata explained with a small embarrassed blush.

"Oh, does this involve your little harem?" Isaribi asked.

Hinata practically facefaulted in the water. "What?" She asked after she coughed up the water she almost swallowed. "How did you...?"

"Your little sister told me. Apparently she overheard you and your mother talk about sharing Naruto-kun with others, and spied on you again when you talked to him about it. She then got me and a few other girls together and told us all." Isaribi explained.

'I should have known imouto-chan would have been too curious to really stay out of this.' Hinata thought semibitterly.

"So I'm actually the first girl you're approaching for this?" Isaribi asked. "Gotta admit I'm flattered and tempted."

"Just tempted?" Hinata asked. 'I'd have thought she'd be begging for this.'

"I'm not against the idea. Believe me, I'm willing to tolerate sharing. But to be honest, I don't really want to unless Naruto-kun himself asks me to be a part of this group. Unless he does, I'll kind of feel like I'm just there to do a job and not because he cares about me."

"You know he cares about you. Heck, he goes swimming with you almost every morning because you like it so much." Hinata stated.

"I know. But I want him to be the one to make the offer, not you. Do you understand?" Isaribi asked.

"Yeah, I do. So, who were the other girls imouto-chan told?"

Isaribi scanned her memory. "Ah, besides me there was Kin Tsuchi, Haku Momochi, Sasame Fuuma, and Fuu Takino."

'Hmm... all the girls we mentioned that night. Sounds like she's playing matchmaker rather than just eavesdropping.' Hinata thought.

"Oh, one more thing. I'm not sure if you already heard this, but your sister said she wanted a spot in the group too." Isaribi added.

"What?" Hinata asked. Sure, she knew her younger sister gave the blonde boy the same sort of looks Hinata did, but Hinata always figured it was some sort of silly kid crush and nothing more. "She can't be serious."

"She didn't look like she was joking to me."

"But she's only ten."

"Weren't you nine when you first kissed Naruto-kun and told him you loved him?" Isaribi countered.

"Are you actually in favor of the idea?" Hinata asked.

"I don't really have an opinion on the subject. Let's face it, the odds aren't in her favor so there's no reason to fret over it." Isaribi answered.

"I guess you're right."

"Although there is a chance that Naruto might be interested in that kinda-"

"Don't you dare" Hinata warned

Isaribi laughed. "Alright, now that that's settled, I'm going to go back to what I was doing." Isaribi said before taking a deep breath and submerging herself.

Hinata started doing a few breaststrokes for no particular reason. 'For some reason I get the feeling that Isaribi-chan won't have to wait too long.'

* * *

Meanwhile, Naruto was sitting next to Tayuya at the northern gate keeping an eye out for trouble, all the while eating some ramen and making semi-inappropriate small talk. He usually did this with her at least once a week since she was the funnest Alto member to be around. And she enjoyed it too, enough that she actually bothered to tone down her language around him a bit. For those that knew Tayuya, that was saying a lot.

"Hey Tayuya-chan, can I ask you something?" Naruto asked as he set his empty ramen bowl down.

"Sure Naruto. What's on your mind?" The redhead told him.

"Have you already been told anything about me from Jii-san?" He asked to start things out. Tayuya was part of a special branch of the Altos known as the Sound Five; their main jobs being operating the sound defense system and if need be defend the sannin and all who reside in the otokage tower. So he figured there was a chance she was already informed about his predicament.

"No. Why? Was I supposed to?"

"Let's just say something's come up, and it's got me confused. I'd love to hear an unbiased opinion." He explained.

"Sure. I'll help you out." She told him to build up his nerve.

"Basically, in a nutshell, I'm being ordered to have children with nine women someday." Naruto said quickly to get it over with.

For a moment Tayuya was silent, but then the dam burst. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me? Really? Why?"

"Because of my multiple kekkei genkai's. If I have children with nine women then I can create nine clans for Oto."

"Makes sense. So, who are the lucky ladies?"

Naruto sighed. "So you think this is a good idea too?"

"You don't? Fuck Naruto-kun most men would give up a nut to be in a situation like this. Being told to bang several different girls and having it be legal and allowed by the women too? Fuck Naruto-kun I always knew you were a decent man but maybe you're too decent for your own damn good." Tayuya replied.

"I'm willing to try it out. I mean, I do understand the reasoning behind it all and Hina-chan is willing to try it too." Naruto defended.

Tayuya arched an eyebrow at him. "Then what exactly do you need my opinion on?"

"How exactly do I attract more girls? And how do I keep them satisfied and taken care of once I have them?" He asked. "I mean, I need to treat them well so they'll want to stay and feel special, and once they have the kids I'll need to help raise them and care for the mothers as well. How can I do that with nine women when sometimes one sounds like a huge job?"

On the outside, Tayuya just smiled warmly. But on the inside, she was practically cheering praise for the blonde. 'Wow. He actually already knows having several women like that won't be just a 24-7 orgy? And he wants to cater to them all like a decent person would? All of a sudden I'm hoping he's not put off by older women, even if the age difference is only four years.'

"Well Naruto-kun, when it comes to attracting more girls, I'd say do what worked to get you your girlfriend since it worked so well. As for keeping them satisfied, and I'm assuming you mean outside the bedroom too here, treat them like you treat your girlfriend. Basically just go with what you already know works, just on a group. I have a feeling you can handle it even though it does sound tough."

At hearing that, Naruto looked a little more at ease. "Thanks Tayuya-chan. I'll try my hardest."

"Got an opening for me?" Tayuya joked, and laughed when Naruto facefaulted. "I'm kidding Naruto-kun, but I wouldn't be offended if you considered the idea later on."

'Do I really even have to look for girls, or will they end up coming to me?' Naruto asked himself somewhat nervously.

* * *

Some more time went by and more grueling training went on for Naruto's team. So far, he had yet to approach any other girls about the prospect of joining his little group. And Hinata hadn't bothered at all since she felt the other girls would prefer it if he did instead, like Isaribi. She did consult her sister though first chance she got, and she still wasn't sure if Hanabi was serious or just joking. The hardest part was telling her no in a way that couldn't be refuted. For a young girl, Hanabi was a surprisingly good debater.

On one particular day, Anko decided her team could do a mission instead of training. "I think you guys just might be ready for a C-Rank by now."

"Think we really are ready?" Isaribi whispered to Naruto as they walked to the mission assigning room.

"If we can handle nee-chan's exercises, we can handle anything." He replied.

Anko surprised them by taking them directly to Orochimaru's office rather than the general room to get assignments. "Hey Jii-san. My team's ready for a C-Rank. Got any good ones for them?"

"You sure about that?" He asked. At her grinning nod, he checked his records of ones he didn't already give out. "Oh, here's one that might prove... interesting to you. But I need to explain it all before you accept or not."

"Go on."

"Okay, a small nation southeast of here called Land of Waves is the destination. I was immediately suspicious since Konoha is the closest village and the one they were most likely to hire for something like this. Apparently the client is someone who's connected on a bridge-building project and fears something horrible will happen to the bridge and everyone working on it. They asked for nonleaf-nin help because they feared the threat might be prepared for leaf-nin."

"Makes sense. Tell me, how did they hear of this village?" Anko asked.

"The client is downstairs so you can ask them directly."

"Wait. Someone from outside is actually here in Oto?" Naruto asked.

Orochimaru nodded. "Yes. So keep an eye out on the client in case this is some sort of set-up to draw some of our forces out and see how we work."

"Assuming we accept it that is." Anko reminded the snake sannin.

"True. Also, given what we've learned from Jiraiya's spy network, it would appear that a tycoon named Gato is basically draining the country dry like some sort of economic vampire, although technically nothing he does can be considered illegal. Or if it can then it can't legally be traced back to him. This request would give the nation a way to recover. But I personally think it will only truly work if Gato was eliminated, because he could still find a way to destroy the completed bridge if he wasn't."

"So the mission is simply return the client home safely, guard the construction workers, assist in construction if possible and necessary, and try to lure this man out for extermination?" Anko asked to clarify. Orochimaru nodded, she smiled wickedly, and turned to face her students. "You guys game?"

"I'm up for it." Naruto answered confidently.

"If he is I am." Hinata added.

Isaribi just shrugged nonchalantly. "Sure. Why not?"

"Alrgiht then, go get ready for it. Pack what I told you and meet me at the front door in twenty minutes." Anko told them all before they went off. Once they were gone she turned back to Orochimaru. "Not to doubt you Jii-san, but this sounds more appropriate for a B-Rank mission then C-Rank. Are you sure it's marked correctly?"

"Technically yes. The official mission is just guard duty, something your team could easily handle. The other stuff I told you, like eliminating the threat completely, is just an extra voluntary objective. But a rather significant one if you ask me."

"Ok. And how likely do you think is the chance of Konoha shinobi being in the area too?" Anko asked, not wanting her team to deal with any if avoidable.

"Very likely. But surely nothing you can't handle by now." Orochimaru answered, understanding his goddaughter's unease perfectly.

"Ok, I'll still let my team give this one a shot. And I'll make sure not to risk starting a war with Konoha. But if they don't do the same, then no promises I won't enjoy myself." Anko stated.

Orochimaru smiled. "I would be worried if you said anything else Anko-chan."


	21. Travel

Ch. 21 Travel

Anko's team regrouped in the central room of the Otokage tower, and Anko brought along the client so her students could meet them. It turned out the client was a young woman, not quite at middle age yet but on the receding edge of her prime, accompanied by a short boy with a fisher's hat on. Both had dark hair and eyes and light colored clothes, but the woman looked desperate while the boy looked disturbed.

"Everyone, this is the client and her son. Her name's Tsunami and the kid's name is Inari." Anko told her three genin, who gave the guests polite smiles and waves. Anko then faced the two from Wave. "I'm Anko Mitarashi, the senior ninja. The one boy is my otouto Naruto Uzumaki, the girl with the jacket is Hinata Hibiki, and the last member here is Isaribi Meikai."

"Nice to meet you all. I'm glad my son and I can get home safely now thanks to your help." Tsunami politely said to them all. Inari just silently scoffed, as if he didn't believe that, but nobody mentioned it.

"By the way team," Anko added. "Otokage-same told me that due to the uncertain nature of this mission, he's got another team assigned to work with us. I hope you can cooperate with them."

"Which team?" Hinata asked. She was wearing a blue pair of contact lenses now so no one could tell she had a byakugan.

"Last year's all kunoichi team led by Kurenai-chan. They'll be briefed on the mission momentarily and then we head out." Anko answered.

Naruto raised his eyebrows in suprise, while Hinata and Isaribi shared a look and a thought. Kurenai taught Haku, Sasame, and Fuu, who became a permanent member of Oto a few years ago. That team had one more year of experience than their own team, and was doing quite well considering that most villages didn't assemble all kunoichi teams. Usually because the leaders feared that an all kunoichi team would be a tempting target for outlaws, one too tempting to pass up.

"Two teams? Is the situation that bad?" Tsunami asked, worried for her safety and her son's.

"Otokage-sama has reason to believe the mission may call for a little extra muscle later on. We will escort you back home but once we're there we'll need to investigate the threat to your country as to ensure you won't need us again anytime soon." Anko explained.

"Unlike others, we ninja try to do the job so that we and the customer don't need repeat business." Hinata added.

"Any idea what to do while we wait?" Naruto asked.

Hinata pulled out a deck of cards. "Better than nothing."

* * *

Ten minutes later Anko's team and Kurenai's team were heading towards the eastern gate of Oto. All of them were wearing their hitai-ates, since they were now allowed to show off which village they were loyal to. They were quickly arranged so Kurenai's team were in front of the clients while Anko's were in back, because as the more experienced unit Kurenai's team could act quicker.

"Couldn't we in a wagon or something?" Tsunami asked, not really liking the idea of walking all the way back to Wave. In fact, the entire trip from Wave to Rice was done by wagon, so she naturally assumed the trip back would be no different.

"We could, but we don't want to draw attention to ourselves. If you get tired we can still provide you a lift though." Kurenai told her.

"How?" Inari asked curiously.

"Either we can carry you, or one of my close friends can." Anko answered. "But for now, let's start out with a nice walk and enjoy the weather."

"Why can't we start with a ride?" Inari asked.

"Trust me kid, you don't want to start this trip the way she meant." Kurenai answered.

"Why can't we use the way we got here?" Inari asked his mother.

"How exactly did you get here by the way?" Isaribi asked. "I mean, it's not like our village is on any map."

"It's a long story." Tsunami replied.

"It's going to be a long trip, so why not?" Naruto added.

"Ok then. You see, our country's economy is doing really bad lately due to a corrupt businessman." Tsunami started. "The daimyo of your country has been sympathetic to our trouble and secretly sending us money and supplies so we don't go completely broke. A little while ago, I noticed something... disturbing, and asked the people who brought us imports from here if they could get in touch with someone who could do something about it. They offered to bring me and my son directly here so we could plead our case to you."

Anko and Kurenai shared a look before returning their gaze to the young mother. "Is that all?"

"Yes. Why? Do you not believe me?"

"Oh it sounds believable, but it also sounds like you're omitting something." Kurenai answered.

"The fact that you asked 'Do you not believe me?' so soon shows that too." Anko pointed out.

Tsunami sighed and looked skyward for a moment, making everyone stop in their tracks, waiting to hear what she'd say next. "There is something more. You see, the 'disturbing' thing I noticed, was what looked like a group of ninja in an area I didn't think they were supposed to be. And they probably noticed me too. That's why I asked the import bringers to take me and my son away from there for a while so we could be safe. I didn't want to risk them attacking us at home that night."

All present ninja shared looks amongst themselves, primarily with their own teams but not limited to just that. "Would you happen to have seen any identifying symbols on these ninja?" Anko asked.

Tsunami nodded and pulled out a piece of paper. "I drew one down."

Anko looked at it and scowled. "Definitely Konoha's mark."

"I was afraid of that. You see, not too long before that, my father went to Land of Fire to get some help for the bridge project he's working on. He also said he would try and get some ninja cheaply if he could." Tsunami continued sadly.

"Only help he'd get is from Konoha, who apparently have some shady business there already." Kurenai commented.

"Yeah. I thought of that but didn't know what else to do. And I think he might bring them to our home as well. I'm worried that may only make the situation worse."

Anko sighed. "Alright, change of plans. We need to get to Wave as quickly as possible, preferably within the next day or so."

"That's impossible." Fuu stated.

"Not really. We have one way that could work." Anko told everyone, then pointed to Naruto.

"Me? How can I get everyone across two countries and a sea in a day or so?" He asked.

"Simple. Use your Gravity Control to make us all fly that way as fast as you can." Anko told him with a confident smile.

"That sounds like a great idea." Fuu said with a pleased grin. Naruto had once taken his friends for a flight with that kekkei genkai and she was probably the one who most enjoyed it. The fact that her bijuu had wings might be a factor in that though.

"Flying? How can you do that?" Inari asked, sounding and looking for the first time something rather than irritated. Right now he was more intrigued than anything else.

"It's... one of my many skills. And it could work, but the problem is I can only use it for so long." Naruto answered carefully.

Among all of Naruto's kekkei genkai's, all shared a common weakness. He could only use each one for at most nine consecutive minutes, and once that time was up it automatically shut off, needing nine consecutive seconds before he could reactivate it or switch to a different one. And the nine second wait was mandatory even if he voluntarily deactivated the bloodline he was using. Most likely his children wouldn't have either of those problems according to the kyuubi. There were more weakness to his abilities, but they varied amongst the individual kekkei genkai's and were only present when he was using them.

"So go as far as you can in the time you can, take a break, and then start up again." Fuu told him.

"But make sure we're back on the ground before you stop." Sasame added.

"Umm... is there really no better alternative?" Isaribi asked, for she was afraid of heights.

"Sadly no. We need to hurry and this is for the best." Anko told her student.

"Fine. But if I have to do this, then at least let me ride on Naruto-kun's back so I'll feel safer." Isaribi demanded.

'Yeah, I'm sure that's the only reason.' Several present girls thought sarcastically.

Naruto turned to show his back. "Hop on Isaribi-chan." She wrapped her arms around him and he wrapped his own to hold her in place. "Everyone ready?"

"You might want to hold onto your own son for this ma'am." Kurenai warned Tsunami, who quickly held him to her maternally. "You don't get vertigo or motion sickness do you?" Tsunami shook her head negatively. "Okay, we should be clear."

"Gotcha." Naruto replied, then activated his kekkei genkai. Everyone around him suddenly became weightless and then he made them start to hover. He started out slowly to give the clients a chance to handle the new experience. Fortunately they weren't freaking out, but did look unnerved. Hoping to get the shock over with for them, he got everyone above the trees and made them go forward about as fast as falcons could fly.

Tsunami's main thoughts on this were 'Is there anything ninja can't do?', while Inari's was 'I'm actually flying! This is awesome.'

Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves but Isaribi, who kept her face buried in Naruto's hair and her arms and legs tight as clamps around her ride's body. Naruto meanwhile couldn't help but notice the fact that her chest was pressing nicely into his back, but wasn't sure if that was intentional or not.

The trip went well but not quickly, with Naruto not reaching maximum speed for the sake of the civilians. He did eventually go higher to avoid the risk of being seen, and everyone kept an eye on the time limit, lest they plummet to the ground. Tsunami was initially frightened for the first two times but by the third time she got more relaxed and was actually able to enjoy it a bit. Not quite as much as Fuu, who kept asking for Naruto to let them do some barrelrolls and loops for fun but kept getting turned down.

Three hours later they had reached the shore of Land of Fire and the small stretch of sea that separated them from Wave Country. "Can I take a break? I'm a bit tired." Naruto complained.

"No problem. We can take it from here otouto." Anko answered. The next moment a couple of giant snakes were summoned, frightening Tsunami and Inari quite a bit. "It's alright, these guys won't bite. Besides, they're constrictors so they're not poisonous even if they did."

"That's not funny sensei." Hinata told Anko as she and several others climbed onto one of the snake's back.

"You actually get along with snakes?" Tsunami asked fearfully.

"You bet. In fact one of my best friends growing up was a snake." Anko answered, then summoned her personal summons Kogyoku along with Naruto's old snake Sango. Once the two kids under Orochimaru's care became old enough to defend themselves, Manda ordered the two snakes to be returned, but allowed them to be personal summons for Anko once she signed the snake contract. "Why don't you say hi?"

"Umm... hello." Tsunami said meekly.

"Hey Sango, long time no see." Naruto said with much enthusiasm to the orange and black snake, which slithered over to him so he could pet her.

"Things still going well for you kid?" Sango asked.

"It talked?" Inari asked in surprise.

All the summoned snakes turned to face the boy, without menace but it still scared him.

"Did you think we summoned plain ordinary snakes kid?" Anko asked.

"C'mon, let's get going." Kurenai told everyone.

Tsunami and Inari got settling on one of the big snakes, and they started swimming to the island country.


	22. Assistance

Ch. 22 Assistance

"Wow, that's one big bridge." Naruto whispered as the sight of a large unfinished bridge came into view from the fog surrounding the area at the time.

"Bet it will look better when it's done." Hinata whispered while she held onto him from behind.

Isaribi meanwhile was looking into the water from her position on the front of the snake they were riding. 'Wish I could go for a quick swim. Guess I can wait a bit longer.'

Naruto, Hinata, and Isaribi were riding one snake while Haku, Fuu, and Sasame were riding another, both teams creating a defense around the snake that was carrying Anko, Kurenai, Tsunami, and Inari. So far there were no problems other than a lot of mist, which had Hinata activate her byakugan to keep an eye out. Luckily no one who didn't already know of her kekkei genkai could see her use it.

'Wish I could talk to Naruto about this opportunity, but with Isaribi-chan so close I don't think I should.' Hinata quickly commented in her head. The 'opportunity' she had in mind was telling the other girls about Naruto's need for multiple women since they were all in the same place together. A better chance would probably never come along. 'Ah what the hell, if she hears us talking she might actually support the idea. And it might get her what she wants too.'

"Hey, Naru-kun..." She whispered into his ear to catch his attention.

"Yes, Hina-chan?" He replied somewhat above a whisper.

"While we're here on this mission, do you think we oughta tell everyone about your situation?" Hinata asked.

Naruto gave the aforementioned team a quick glance before answering. "It might be a good idea. But should we do it before or after the mission is over?"

"What situation, Naruto-kun?" Isaribi asked, pretty sure she knew which one but choosing to play innocent.

"Umm... something the sannin told me about that's kind of difficult to just come out and say." Naruto nervously answered.

"Is there anything I can do to help you with it?" Isaribi asked, trying her hardest to pretend to be unaware. Her blush wasn't helping.

"That depends. You might not like it once you hear it."

"And if I'm okay with it?"

Naruto wasn't expecting that response, so he thought over it and sighed. "Then I would love to have you help me out."

Isaribi turned so he couldn't see her blush or perverted grin. 'Bingo. That's all the invitation I need.'

* * *

Once they reached land and continued to Tsunami and Inari's hometown the area felt unhostile so they didn't move in a hurry. However they did avoid any main roads and stuck to moving within the forest and tree tops. Years of being told to be as secretive and discreet as possible when on missions created such behavior in Oto ninja. At the moment they were on the ground for the sake of their clients. The summoned snakes quickly left the area since they didn't feel needed anymore.

After about twenty minutes of moving Anko and Kurenai came to a stop, making the rest of their group stop as well. "Listen. You guys hear that?"

All ears strained to catch any unusual noise. At first all they could hear were normal forest sounds, but a subtle note of metal hitting metal could be heard to a few of the genin. "Sounds like a fight's going on." Sasame stated.

"Hinata, check it out." Anko ordered.

Said girl nodded and activated her byakugan. What she saw made her gasp. "There's a fight east-northeast of us, and it looks like Momochi-sama is in it."

"Otou-san?" Haku asked, having no idea her adoptive father, whom she respected a hundredfold more than her biological one, was anywhere near here. "What's he doing here?"

"No idea. Who's he fighting?" Kurenai asked.

"I see him fighting one man with white hair directly, and there are three kids our age standing by another older man. One of the three kids just threw a large collapsible shuriken... but it missed Momochi-sama. All are wearing Konoha hitai-ates." Hinata told everyone.

"Dammit." Anko said under her breath.

"What's the older man look like?" Tsunami asked as she pulled out a photo in one of her pockets. "Is this him?"

With her byakugan Hinata barely needed a second to find out. "Yes that's him. He's your father I'm assuming?"

"Yes. He's not in danger is he?"

Hinata shook her head. "He's guarded well, but that's only because the three ninja around him are just genin at best. They know they have no chance against someone like Zabuza Momochi-sama."

"Why's he fighting them?" Fuu asked.

"There's only one way to find out. We gotta get him out of the fight and come to us, but without the Konoha shinobi finding out we're here." Kurenai analyzed.

"Won't that be interfering with his own mission?" Naruto asked.

"I highly doubt Otokage-sama would assign us to transport these people home safely while assigning another person to kill one of their relatives." Anko told her student. "What would be the point? It would increase the risk of the client seeing the death and we'd get bad publicity and risk losing future business. And besides, what threat to anyone can the old man pose?"

"He poses a threat to Gato, that's for sure." Tsunami replied, making Inari nod.

Haku took a step forward. "Sensei, let me be the one to handle Otou-san. He'll be more understanding and forgiving if I'm the one who does it. Plus, I've got the necessary tools to do it without revealing our presence."

Kurenai thought it over for a second, and nodded. "Go right ahead Haku."

Haku reached into her pack and pulled out a mask resembling that of a Kiri hunter ninja. One of the best strategies employed by Oto nin on the job in the past had been pretending to be allied to other villages while doing dirty work, thus lowering the reputation of rival villages while keeping their own unknown. Sometimes they pretended to be one of their allies to raise their reputation too. Haku generally played the role of a Kiri shinobi as a way of getting back at her birth village for what they tried to do to her.

With her disguise in place Haku went into the trees to act out her role. Hinata kept watching in case something happened to go wrong. Not that she expected it to, after all Haku did have field experience so she knew what she was doing.

Haku perched on a branch and concealed her chakra as best she could. Nobody in her line of sight suspected a thing. She noticed that only one of the Konoha ninja was actually giving Zabuza any trouble, and that one was a white-haired man with most of his face covered. Haku arched an eyebrow when she saw him like that. 'The mask I can understand, but doesn't having one of his eyes covered affect his depth perception and range of vision? Since he's dripping wet I guess that means he was caught in a water prison but somehow got out recently. And since he's the oldest, I'm going to assume he's a jounin sensei and those are his genin students.'

Waiting for the right moment, she decided to analyze the genin present as well. 'Wow, that pink-haired girl really stands out, even more than Naruto-kun's outfit does. And the way she's standing and watching tells me she's not really prepared for being in real shinobi situations. Probably a civilian descendant. The two boys look less shocked so they probably come from clans. The one in blue looks like he's itching to get in the fight, but the other one seems to know to keep his distance. They all look like this is their first time out of the village and weren't expecting much to encounter.'

Zabuza and the Konoha jounin both did water dragon attacks at the same time, and both looked out of breath. 'Now's my chance.' Haku then pulled out her senbon needles and threw them with great accuracy at a few pressure points on her adoptive father's neck. They hit their mark and he fell down. Before the Konoha jounin could get a good look, she jumped to land behind Zabuza. "Thanks for weakening him for me. I'll take it from here." She then grabbed him, and shushined the two away back towards her group before anyone could ask any questions. If that jounin was competent in any way, he'd figure out she wasn't a real hunter nin and she wanted to be out of their before her bluff was called.

Once she got back to her allies, Haku removed the senbon as gently as she could. Zabuza still groaned in pain. "Sorry about that, but we figured you needed to get out of there."

Zabuza immediately recognized her voice. "What are you doing here?"

"That's actually what we want to ask you." Anko stated, standing over the swordsman.

Zabuza coughed before answering. "Otokage-sama... told me to come here a few days ago. Wanted me to keep an eye out for Konoha nin around the main town."

Anko didn't look all that surprised. 'Hmm... so you sent someone in ahead of us Jii-san? Is it because you were worried about us, or do you suspect more then you told me? Knowing him, I suspect the latter.'

"How'd you get here before us?" Sasame asked.

Zabuza weakly laughed, then ached. "I'm a jounin for a reason kid."

Kurenai knelt down to face him better. "What can you tell us about those you were just fighting against?"

"Not much. Other than the one competent one was apparently Konoha's Copy-nin Kakashi Hatake."

Anko looked disturbed and then knelt down as well. "Seriously? You're sure it was him?"

"Yeah. He had a single sharingan and mimicked all my moves trying to psych me out."

Anko growled and balled up her fist. Then, surprising and frightening everyone else, she stopped and smiled. "At least I finally get to kick his ass."

"You know the guy nee-chan?" Naruto asked.

Anko nodded. "Not in a good way otouto. Let's just say back in Konoha he was one of those that called for your death and he once threw a kunai at me for defending you when I was six." She then gingerly touched her shoulder where she still had the scar from that event.

Tsunami stepped forward. "Sorry to say this, but if they're with my father then that guarantees you'll be running into them at my house shortly."

"Try not to fight too much; we don't want to lose our home to more violent jerks." Inari practically commanded.

"We'll take it outside if it comes to that kid." Anko told them, then faced everyone all together. "Alright everyone, let's try to get to their home before the old man and his guards do. Naruto, think you can fly us one more time?"

"Sorry sensei, but I'd rather conserve my strength for now. Besides, we need Tsunami-san to lead us." He answered.

"Okay then, so let's get moving. Bring Zabuza-san with us too so he can be treated."

"What will my grandpa and those ninja say if they see you bring him to our house?" Inari asked.

"We'll treat him elsewhere, and it would be best if neither of you said a word about this. Don't want any unnecessary violence on your property do you?" Kurenai asked as she hoisted Zabuza onto Anko's back to be carried.

"Will you be staying at our house until this mission for you is over?" Tsunami asked.

"Under the circumstances, I personally think it would be best if we don't. What do you guys think?" Anko replied before addressing all other shinobi.

"I gotta agree. Housing ninja from rival villages under one roof can only bring about disastor." Kurenai added.

"But why do we have to be the ones to stay outside?" Sasame asked.

"One, we got someone who needs to recuperate without interference, and two, we need to check around the town to see any suspicious activity involving leaf nin and we can't do that if a group of leaf nin are aware we're here and they can keep their eyes on us." Kurenai explained.

"Plus, it never hurts to have a little survival training and experience thrown in." Anko commented. "Now let's get going we've wasted enough time as it is."

Everyone then rushed to their destination, even the clients.

About an hour later, Tazuna unlocked the door to his house and went inside, along with his ninja bodyguards. "Hello? Anyone here?" He called out since it sounded quieter than he expected.

Tsunami poked her head out from the kitchen. "Welcome back Otou-san. Glad to see you're not hurt. How was the trip?"

No one suspected a thing.


	23. Strategies

_Sorry for the long wait. I'm trying to make the Wave mission unique so planning everything out took a while. Also I went back and retouched some of the previous chapters. Updates will be more regular now. _

Ch. 23 Strategies

"Well since we can't crash at an actual house, can we got to a hotel or something?" Fuu asked the instructors while they walked into the woods around their clients property.

"I suppose we can at least look around for one." Kurenai answered.

"Aren't you used to sleeping outside on missions?" Anko asked.

"Doesn't mean I'll turn down the chance to sleep indoors." The green-haired jinchuuriki replied, remembering several times back in Taki she had been forced to sleep outdoors. "And besides, we've already established that there are enemy ninja in the area. Camping out will give them an opportunity to ambush us if they discover us, but staying in a hotel will thwart them lest they not care about keeping an image in the area."

"She's got a point." Kurenai whispered to Anko. "And it would help Zabuza-san recover if he were indoors."

"Alright then. I'm all for a comfortable inn room too. Let's go find one." The purple-haired jounin told her team, then faced Naruto specifically. "By the way otouto, since Konoha is in the area now, and especially considering who's in their group, we're going to have to go with our aliases for the rest of the mission."

Naruto nodded, and while the rest of his team understood, Kurenai's didn't. "Aliases?" Sasame asked.

"Yeah, it's a defense for the two of us in case we ever encountered any Konoha shinobi." Anko answered. "Officially, we've been dead to them for ten years, but there's still a chance we could run into someone who'd recognize us and figure out everything Otokage-sama set up back then was faked. This Kakashi jerk is a likely one to do that. So the two of us will use fake names to at least avoid outright exposing ourselves."

"So what's the new names we should know?" Haku asked.

"We'll still go by Anko and Naruto, to make it easier on you guys and the clients. But our family name will be Urashi for the both of us. And Naruto, you'll have to hide your whisker marks. Dead giveaway."

Hinata and Isaribi soon applied some makeup to Naruto's cheeks to hide his whiskers, and then everyone went to go find a hotel to check into, with Kurenai carrying the immobile Zabuza on her back.

Once the group of Oto ninja went into the main town, they were pretty disturbed to see what kind of shape it was in. The heart of downtown could barely be described as better than a slum. Doors and windows of empty shops were boarded up and those that weren't out of business yet looked like nothing short of the grace of Kami was keeping them from it. And every one of the locals gave this group some distance and cautious looks. Under the circumstances it was entirely normal. Some locals gave the girls interested looks as well, and the fact that Naruto was the only mobile guy in the group made some feel bolder than others.

One particular man, once a mediocre fisherman but a random pauper now, approached the group of shinobi. He saw the headbands but didn't recognise the music note symbol so he figured they couldn't possibly be professional ninjas. Also he was a bit of a sexist so that factored into his judgment here too. "Hey ladies, wanna come to my place today? You must be new to town, so I'll let ya know there's few places to sleep peacefully nowadays here."

Hinata and Isaribi took a step back to feel guarded by Naruto. Luckily the other kunoichi weren't strangers to these types of situations and knew how to handle it. Anko crossed her arms and smirked. "Thanks for the kind offer, but we're not staying for the night."

"Ah come on gal. It'll be worth your while." The pauper added, wiggling his eyebrows for effect.

Anko acted like she was flattered. "In that case, can I put a little perfume on now?"

"Sure. Knock yourself out."

Anko then pulled out a small canister. "Actually, I think I'll knock you out instead." She then sprayed some pepper spray, ninja strength, at the harasser. The effect was like a bee sting right on the eye. The man screamed, clutched his eyes, and fell on the ground. Anko and the rest of the experienced kunoichi just walked past. Naruto, Hinata, and Isaribi were momentarily surprised by what they had just witnessed, but snapped out of it and caught up with the rest quickly.

"Nice job sensei." Hinata whispered.

Anko grinned wickedly. "Remember, a kunoichi's greatest weapon is catching a man off guard and playing on his lusts. Do that, and a direct fight is unneeded."

'Maybe I can use that to have some time with Naruto-kun.' Isaribi quickly and deviously thought just then.

"Please tell me that's not where we'll stay." Sasame pleaded as a run-down hotel came into view. Let's just say in the condition it was in the only guests you could expect here were vermin.

"I'm guessing that with the country as bad as it is, tourists don't bother coming by anymore." Kurenai stated. Although both she and Anko had already figured that out. They just wanted their students to see it and the extent of the damage to the town for themselves. It would provide a good motivator for them later on.

"So it's this bad, even with Daimyo-sama providing financial aid?" Hinata asked.

Anko nodded. "Obviously. But remember, we don't know how much money he's giving and either way he has to do it in secret or else Gato would just be more brutal in an effort to collect it quicker."

"Which is why we have to eliminate him." Naruto commented.

Anko nodded. "Right, but let's continue this discussion elsewhere." She quickly led everyone into a forested area and summoned several snakes to act as sort of watch dogs. And then she also activated a soundproof dome barrier to ensure no one overheard them. "We can't risk what I'm about to explain being overheard by anyone. Remember there's a chance some of the villagers here may act as eyes and ears to Gato in exchange for better treatment from him. Ninja are not the only ones we should be cautious of here."

The students didn't think of that, but after hearing it, it made a lot of sense. Even if tyrants were hated, some of their victims would sell out others to better their own situations and gain approval from the tyrant. It happened a lot in history.

Kurenai set down Zabuza, who remained conscious enough to hear everything, as Anko explained what she was thinking. "This Gato guy is a business tycoon, not a warrior. And since he's at the top of the business, that means he's much more likely to have others do his work for him, rarely getting directly involved unless he's overcome with curiosity or thinks the job's not getting done well enough. Because of this, eliminating him isn't as easy as it sounds."

"Because to eliminate him, we have to be in the same place he is at some time." Sasame thought out loud.

Anko nodded. "Exactly. Somehow, we need to draw him out, or discover his whereabouts. Sadly, the first option is the easier. If we did happen to capture one of his cronies and get him to crack, Gato most likely has a bunch of lowlife thugs under his thumb and I'm betting he has plenty of ways to get rid of them should they double-cross him. It's likely he'd be prepared for a ninja assault. Getting him to come to us puts the odds in our favor."

"And how do we do that?" Naruto asked.

Anko shrugged. "I'm not so sure right now. Kurenai-chan, you got any ideas?"

The genjutsu expert put her chin in her hand, showing she was thinking. "If we were to make it look like the bridge is about to be completed, then Gato will likely come out of hiding to personally do something about it. Remember he wants the people here too afraid to oppose him. So by coming here when the bridge is nearly complete with the intent to destroy it and kill some of those involved, he sends a frightful message to anyone left."

"The mizukage did something similar once. Only it involved someone speaking for the rights of kekkei genkai wielders." Zabuza added in.

"Okay, since Gato should most fear the completion of the bridge, if it begins to look like a reality he'll send hired goons to kill the construction crew, the initial planner, and demolish the structure too. If we prevent that, and even use some tricks to make it appear the bridge is getting done sooner, then he should get desperate and reveal himself. And then we kill him." Anko summarized with a smile.

"What about a Deadman Switch?" Zabuza asked.

None of the genin understood that, but Anko and Kurenai caught on. "Oh crap, didn't think of that. Good thinking Zabuza-san."

"What'd he mean by that?" Naruto asked.

"'Deadman Switch' is the term used to mean a vengeful failsafe movement. The name comes from the idea of a weapon that works when the wielder is dead. Think of a paperbomb trap that you keep wrapped around yourself, but instead of activating when you put chakra into it, it activates when you stop. Therefore, if you were to die or run out of chakra, then it explodes, destroying you and hopefully your enemies as well. Same basic principle." Anko explained.

"Some strategies are similar." Kurenai added. "The Altos know what to do in the event the Otokage is killed and how to find the killer. They're trained for that beforehand. And if a team fails to return home, that tells the kage of the village to send a second group to see what happened and finish the job. Gato may have some of his men prepared to do something if he were to simply vanish. Only after the bridge is complete can these people truly be safe from him."

"But he's not a ninja. Would he use such a tactic?" Hinata asked.

"We should be prepared for it anyway." Kurenai answered. "There is a chance we're overthinking what the enemy may have planned, but overthinking is more likely to succeed than underthinking."

Naruto nodded. "Okay, so we have a plan regarding our target. How does Konoha's involvement play into this?"

"Preferably we don't interact with them at all. However, if they're here on behalf on the head of the bridge project like Tazuna told us, then that will complicate things." Anko stated with a sigh. "It's likely that interacting with them will be inevitable, and to avoid any unnecessary conflict, we can't interfere with their mission or fight them unprovoked."

To the genin it sounded obvious enough, but there was something they didn't quite grasp. If there was a fight and Konoha could effectively place the blame on Oto, then they might be able to declare war on the village. They might not, as Oto was hidden from them and too small to be too much of a threat, but if by chance Konoha did try then it would cause trouble. Also, Konoha would seek out their allies to hep find Oto, which would ultimately reveal Suna's and Taki's real alliances, which could end up sparking the Fourth Great Ninja War.

So in the long run, as long as they didn't make any malicious moves towards the Konoha shinobi, they could remain living the way they liked. But in the event these Konoha nin made the first move, then the Oto shinobi could retaliate justifiably. Although even then Konoha might try and do something back.

"And what do we do if they won't do the same?" Isaribi asked, already sure of the answer but wanting confirmation.

"The same thing we do to any enemy: fight back." Anko answered.

"Okay, now that that's covered, let's set up a base camp." Kurenai told everyone. "We should go deeper into the woods to make it less likely to get company. Also with Zabuza-san here incapacitated someone will have to remain with him at all times until he recovers, so somewhere where our enemies would be unlikely to go to is obviously preferable."

It didn't take them long to find a good enough spot. Open enough that they could set up tents, but discreet enough that only someone trying to get there would. There was no fresh water in the immediate area, but it could be gotten with a twenty minute walk north.

That night everyone went to sleep in their tents, with Naruto and Zabuza sharing while two people took guard shifts for three hours throughout the night. It was rather uneventful, which was a good thing for now.


	24. Conflicts

Ch. 24 Conflicts

The next day proved to be difficult to schedule for the Oto nin. Someone had to stay and watch over Zabuza at all times until he recovered. According to Haku, it should only take about a week at most, but until then his mobility was limited to about as good as someone twice his age. And not only that, someone had to check around town for the suspicious ninja activity reported to them by Tsunami. The genin team from Konoha led by Kakashi was ruled out for consideration since Tsunami didn't recognize a single one of them. So they had to check for other ninja in the area, which was often about as easy as looking for a needle in a haystack.

For the time being they split into two initial groups. The first group consisted of just Naruto, Haku, and Kurenai keeping guard over Zabuza and their campsite. The rest formed the group that would check the town out for anything unusual, and they would have to split into smaller groups to cover more ground.

At the moment Haku was standing looking for herbs and Kurenai was standing watch, leaving Naruto to go forage for food and water. Rather than waste his time scouting the area, he activated his Neo-Byakugan and looked over the entire area at once. He found some apple trees with their fruit in good condition and some rabbits by the creek they already knew the location of, but one thing in particular caught his attention the most.

He saw one grown man with crutches talking to three kids his own age about forty-three meters to the northwest. 'That must be the Konoha genin team that came here with Tsunami-san's father. Wonder what they're doing.' Naruto thought, focusing his attention on them now.

He saw the jounin start to walk up a tree slowly and his students look on in awe. The jounin came to a stop and said something to them before tossing them each a kunai. Naruto could only shake his head at this. 'Are you kidding me? These genin are taking missions outside the village and they're just now learning to walk up trees? And why are they so surprised to see such a thing? Haven't they ever actually noticed what the ninja in their own villages do?'

Naruto decided to ignore it for now and went back to getting supplies. In no time at all he had water, fruit, and meat for his comrades and brought them back to their campsite. "Got it Kurenai-sensei."

"Thanks Naruto."

"By the way, I noticed something rather peculiar involving the known Konoha ninja here." Naruto added.

Kurenai arched an eyebrow. "Go on."

"It appears they are almost no threat. The genin are just now learning to treewalk and look like they never knew such a thing was possible. As for the jounin, he's mobile but as slow as a tortoise."

Kurenai thought this over. 'That does sound rather pathetic, but then again the hokage did select them for this mission. We gotta assume they have some skills we don't know about.' She then cleared her throat. "Naruto, I want you to go back and get a closer, longer look. See what you can about them all. We need to see what it is about them that made them the ninja chosen to be here."

Naruto nodded. "Okay, I'll do what I can." He then disappeared back into the forest.

Naruto had no trouble finding them when he reactivated his Neo-Byakugan. His eyes showed him that the kunoichi genin was making the most progress so far. Naruto settled on a branch not within seeing or hearing range, and stayed downwind since the team had a dog with them.

For a while nothing happened that really struck him as interesting. So he decided to take a close look at the ninja to see if he should be wary for anything. The first one he studied was the jounin, since Anko seemed to recognize him. If she was right, then this man was the infamous Copycat Kakashi Hatake, once a student of the Yondaime Hokage. And he was one of the first people to call for his death back in Konoha. Naruto frowned, thinking his father would probably knock his student senseless if he was still around for that.

Yes, Naruto knew who his birth parents were. The sannin saw no reason to hide that info from him since no one in Oto wanted him dead and Iwa was confirmed as no threat. In fact, only Konoha could pose a threat to him if that info got out, so it was kept underwraps and he still used his mother's name. One could only imagine the commotion Konoha would cause if they heard so much as a rumor that there was someone using the name Namikaze, and worse, for another village.

Naruto kept most of his attention on Kakashi at first, trying to size the man up completely so he'd have some understanding of what he may someday be up against. Kakashi's most notable feature was that his left eye was covered up. According to Orochimaru, that eye was actually a sharingan, currently the only working one in Konoha. He had used it to copy over a thousand techniques, each of which he knew how to use effectively. Although no one in Oto knew exactly how he got it.

'He may be dangerous once he heals. But Nee-chan's more likely to deal with him than me if the situation does come up. I'd more likely have to handle his students. Let's see what they got up their sleeves.'

The first one of the students Naruto observed was the one that stood out the most. The girl with the pink hair and large forehead, currently sitting on a branch watching her teammates continue to struggle. Her gaze focused almost solely on one teammate in particular, indicating a personal preference. Naruto's Neo-Byakugan showed him her chakra coils were small and her muscles only at academy build, and there was little fat anywhere in her body, including her breasts. Judging from her physiology, Naruto suspected this girl had no training or tutoring outside academy classes, meaning she was lazy in training or not of a ninja family. Maybe even both. The way she watched her teammate and looked at him while doing so probably meant she was infatuated with him.

Naruto then checked out the next one to catch his attention, which happened to be the guy closest to the pink-haired girl at the moment. This was a guy who wore a jacket and carried a dog in it with him. The Neo-Byakugan showed he had two streaks on his face and small fangs in his mouth, classic markings of the Inuzuka clan. His physiology showed he was serious about his training and did it regularly, resulting in strong muscles and healthy chakra coils. And his dog was in good shape too. Naruto knew this guy could prove to be a handful if he ever faced him.

And finally, he looked over at the last one present, the one on the other side of the girl. It was a guy with hair shaped like a duck's ass, who wore a blue shirt with almost white-tan shorts. His shirt had a red and white fan symbol on the back of it, probably a clan symbol but not one Naruto knew off the top of his head. He was also the one the girl was intently observing, although his own expression showed he was focused solely on what he was doing. His chakra coils were the most well-formed out of the three but his muscles were probably second compared to the Inuzuka boy. Meaning this guy was the better at ninjutsu but the Inuzuka was physically stronger.

Before Naruto could continue watching, he saw with his doujutsu Kakashi sensing his presence finally and prepare a fire jutsu to get rid of him. Since he was weakened it was easy for Naruto to get away from the damage in time. Naruto deactivated his bloodline, running out of time for it anyway and anticipating a possible search for him by them.

It turned out he was right, for the three genin showed up looking for him. They didn't see him, since he was up in a tree and they were on the ground looking for him on the ground. The Inuzuka's dog tried sniffing for their target, but everyone else was just using their eyes to search for him. Naruto almost laughed at them, but held it in so he could surprise them. Their teacher hadn't followed, since he needed crutches to stand up.

Naruto decided to have some fun and catch them offguard. Wondering how to best do it, he got a wicked idea he just couldn't resist. After all, it worked so well on Jiraiya, so it should work even better on these guys. Hiding himself deeper into the foliage, he made a single handsign and whispered the jutsu's name.

The next thing the three genin knew, they were surrounded by a group of barely dressed, or maybe not dressed at all, identical blonde girls with killer figures, all running out from behind the trees happily to greet them. The girl was mortified, the duck-ass guy was shocked, and the Inuzuka looked like all his prayers had been answered. Naruto wasn't sure which knocked the Inuzuka out first, the massive nosebleed of the hit on the head he got from the angry-at-his-reaction pinkette. The girl then glared at all the girls who were hanging onto the duck-ass guy, who for some reason now shrugged the whole thing off, before she tried to wail on them all. She didn't get the chance to, as all the clones vanished in a puff of smoke, clouding their vision long enough for Naruto to get away unnoticed.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sasame and Isaribi were checking out the south end of the town. Hinata and Anko were checking out the north end while Fuu was checking out the east end. An intercom link was being used between them all, with an emergency link to Kurenai should something big come up. While they were searching for anything out of the ordinary, the two had a little girltalk as well. And there was one topic in particular that was sure to keep both their interests.

"So I bet having Naruto-kun as a teammate is a lot of fun." Sasame started to break the ice.

Isaribi nodded with a small smile. "Yeah, but Hinata takes a lot of his attention."

"I bet that's frustrating, but if he's happy then I guess that's for the best." Sasame said with a sigh. She had gotten to know Naruto as a common sparring partner so both could learn a variety of techniques and counter-techniques, mostly regarding weaponry, and she had grown fond of the blonde in that time.

Isaribi looked around them to make sure no one was nearby, both because of her job and for the sake of privacy. "Hey, you remember that little bit of info regarding him and other girls?" Sasame nodded. "Well, I'm going for it. If I get the chance that is."

"Really?" Sasame asked. "Is anyone else?"

"I haven't heard. Why? You interested too?"

"Gotta admit the idea has crossed my mind, and I'm not against it. I think Haku and Fuu are eager too though."

"I'm not surprised. Hey, maybe the four of us should have our way with him while we're here." Isaribi joked.

The orange-haired girl arched an eyebrow. "Tempting, but wouldn't Hinata break our necks for getting to him first?"

"I never said we had to go all the way, just have some fun with him."

Sasame giggled. "Wonder how far we can go before we break him?" Isaribi giggled too at the thought.

Before the two kunoichi could continue their chat, they thought they saw someone glance their way and disappear, as if spying on them. Immediately suspicious, the two decided to see what was going on. To avoid being noticed by their potential spy, the two went to the roof tops, only to see someone else already on them trying to get away quickly.

"Obviously someone was trying to watch us, got spotted, and is trying to get away." Sasame stated as she and Isaribi tried to follow.

"Any ide who they are?"

"Nope, and it doesn't matter. We should assume they're a threat for now."

The unidentified target never turned around to see how close they were or stopped in his journey to wherever he was going. He quickly left the town and got to the shore, where he dived under the water and just disappeared, with no bubbles floating to the surface.

Sasame was downright confused, but Isaribi was curious. "I'll handle it from here. You stay to make sure no one else shows up." Sasame nodded, and Isaribi dived into the water. It was darker than she was used to, but luckily she had plenty of experience navigating underwater. Diving deeper, she looked for any signs of a person, while noting with pleasure the undersea environment.

Isaribi didn't see any actual people, but she did notice something that shouldn't have been there. A door. And not a piece of debris thrown out to sea, this door was attached to the ground and had some small red lights outlining it, probably to make it more visible to whoever needed to access it.

'Either these guys are idiots, or they don't expect anyone else to go swimming here this deep.' The purple-haired girl thought quickly. 'I wonder how you open it. I don't see any keyhole. Maybe they're smarter than I give them credit for.' Rather than try to figure it out just then, Isaribi surfaced for another breath and then went back down. When she got back to the door, she saw it begin to open in a trapdoor like fashion, creating some suction she got caught up it and couldn't fight.

Before she knew it, she was pulled in, and landed in a room that drained the water out and gave her room to breath. Isaribi coughed a little and took a few breaths before she noticed where she was. A wall made of glass with a closed glass door separated her from another room with two men in black ninja outfits. On the wall she saw some monitors showing images of the sea, meaning they must have spotted her swimming around. Both men pulled out some katanas and walked towards her.

"Oh crap." was all she could mutter.


	25. Rescue

Ch. 25 Rescue

Isaribi got on her feet and pulled out two kunai, one for each hand, and took a defensive stance against her captors. They didn't look intimidated once they got into the light and she could see their faces. They didn't look worried, or bothered, or even happy at the prospect of a kill. They didn't look anything, like their faces were frozen in an apathetic stare. She didn't like it, it felt so... inhuman.

With their swords out, one of the men opened the door into their room, but not to let her enter. Rather it was so they could get to her and cut her to pieces. She briefly wondered if they expected her to just stand there and let it happen. Either way, she wasn't going to. Since the out opened out, from Isaribi's position, it was easier for her to ambush them then for them to ambush her. So she jolted out the door and used a kunai to cut the chest of one guy but the door blocked her attack on the other guy.

Isaribi quickly put some distance between herself and her captives and took another look to see anything she should be wary of. The first thing she noticed was that the guy she had wounded acted like it didn't hurt. He definitely acknowledged the wound by touching it and wiping off his blood, but his expression was unpained and unchanged. Almost as if he didn't recognize pain. The next thing she noticed was that neither of them wore any symbols telling where their alliegence laid.

'These must be the suspicious ninja we were warned about. I should focus more on getting out of here than fighting them.' Isaribi thought, looking for a way out without taking her eyes off them. 'Odds are likely I can't get out the same way I got it, and it's highly unlikely that an underwater base wouldn't have an emergency exit of some sort.'

Isaribi started backing away without making it look obvious. Unfortunately her current adversaries saw that and advanced forward to restrain her. Isaribi ducked down and used her kunais to cut their calves. Since any water jutsu might flood the place, she was limited to solely taijutsu and weapon-handling here, but that meant her enemies were too. The downside was they looked like they were jounins or at least strong chuunins. The odds weren't in her favor so she had to get out of here.

'I guess I only really have one option.' The purple-haired girl thought. During the brief time her opponents couldn't stand, she raced to the back of the room and opened the door. There were no locks on it because the only ones intended to be here wouldn't need to lock themselves out. There was a short hallway, if you could call it that, with two doors, each one opposite the other. With no time to think, she went inside the left one hoping it would lead out.

It didn't. Instead this was a white room like one would find in a hospital, complete with a respirator and heart monitor, and even a patient on a bed. Curious, Isaribi got a closer look and saw a sleeping woman, who was quite attractive if even a little unkempt. Her long hair was a rich red and her face looked gentle and peaceful, but that was probably because she was unconscious. There was an IV hooked to her right arm and the heart monitor showed a steady pulse. Her skin was a healthy shade so Isaribi wondered why she was here and in such a condition.

Before she could try to figure it out, the unidentified shinobi caught up to her and they didn't look too pleased with her. "Get away from our leader's prize." One coldly demanded.

Isaribi approached the part of the room where the equipment wasn't and put a paper bomb on the wall. The bomb went off just before one of the unmarked ninja would have been able to stab Isaribi in the stomach. The blast of the explosion sent them both back flying but Isaribi landed away from him. Warning sirens went off and cracks in the walls formed, letting seawater enter. It started slow, but would soon speed up.

Isaribi got back on her feet. "Water style: Water Drill Jutsu." The water rose into the form of a twirling drill and shot right into the stone wall with a lot of force, carving a hole to the outside. As expected, a lot more seawater came inside and flooded the place. She then grabbed ahold of the unconscious woman, unhooked her, and got her on her back. Isaribi took a deep breath and used her chakra to propel herself against the current and suction to get outside.

Before she could reach the surface, she felt a chain wrap around her ankle, pulling her back down. She turned to see the two strange ninja with new mouthpieces trying to catch her. One held the base of the chain used to catch her while the other held a long ninjato, ready to skewer her once she got close enough. And both were swimming towards her.

Knowing that resisting would only result in her and the woman drowning, Isaribi prepared a jutsu specifically designed to be used in water or underwater. Unable to say the name, she mouthed it. "Water style: Water Torpedo Jutsu." At her hands the water condensed and darkened, then shot at her targets with the force of a cannon ball and a shape similar to that of a featureless shark. Both of her targets dodged, but the attack turned around behind them and hit the chainweilder from behind, making him drop it.

Isaribi took the chance to use the slack in the chain to get loose and then swim to the surface for a much needed breath. Just as she surfaced and inhaled, she felt a sharp blade graze her right abdomen. The cut was deep but not threatening, probably meant more to make her bleed a lot than downright kill her right away or harm the woman. When the man surfaced and stood on the water to attack her from above when her hands were full keeping the woman afloat, Isaribi inadvertently activated her curse mark and became covered in dark wavy lines.

The purple-haired Oto genin briefly let go of her cargo and dove under the man who tried to kill her. He thrust his sword into the water hoping to strike her but she was too deep to reach. She tried to swim upwards and give him an uppercut but he dodged and gave her a small cut on her arm. Now Isaribi was really hoping there weren't any sharks in the area.

Once back underwater, Isaribi kept a close eye on her target. He could see her, but just stood there, as if waiting for her to resurface and then kill her. She knew this was inevitable, but luckily she had a good lung capacity and she was probably the only person outside Land of Water who bothered to learn underwater warfare. So far that had been her best advantage here.

She prepared another set of hand signs and mouthed the name. "Water Style: Aqua Vaccuum Jutsu." The water in front of her created suction that pulled whatever was on the surface down under, much like a whirlpool, only without the spin included. The swordsman and the unconscious woman were pulled under, unable to fight it off.

She readied another Water Torpedo Jutsu and checked on the woman when it took effect, and pulled her back up. At the surface, Isaribi saw this woman was still breathing under her own power, which she took as a good sign.

Isaribi was caught by surprise and pulled back. The sword-using ninja had gotten back to the surface and grabbed ahold of her hair to do so and was ready to slit her throat. Isaribi couldn't think of a good enough defense in time, and closed her eyes. 'Goodbye Naruto-kun, I hope you're happy with Hinata and the others I couldn't be a part of.'

She felt her would-be killer jerk as if struck by something, making her open her eyes. She saw he now had a kunai tip sticking out of the front of his neck and another kunai piercing the hand that had been holding the ninjato, which had been dropped upon injury. Taking a chance, Isaribi struggled to get out of his weak grip and got back to the surface while he began sinking.

Once at the surface, she saw Sasame standing on the water holding out more weapons. "Are there more?" The orange-haired kunoichi asked.

Isaribi shook her head. "No, I only saw two. Where's the other one?"

"I got that guy while you were busy with him. He was a tough one, but he's fishfood now. Who's this with you?"

Isaribi started pushing the woman towards the shore. "I don't know, I found her in their hideout, and they said she was their leader's prize. I wonder what's so special about her."

"Better let Kurenai-sensei and Anko-sensei worry about that." Sasame commented. Once out of the water they rested her on the sand and treated Isaribi's wounds. Sasame then used their comlink to contact the others. "Come in guys, we found something important. Over."

After a few seconds, someone responded. "I hear you. What did you find? Over." It was Fuu's voice.

"We'll show you, so get everyone to return to camp. We'll be there soon. Over and out."

* * *

Thirty minutes later, all of the Oto shinobi were gathered together at their campsite. Naruto was out keeping an eye out for the Konoha ninja team and to keep them off the Oto team's trail if needed. Sasame and Isaribi had brought the unconscious woman to them as carefully as possible and told of their encounter, with Isaribi saying the most.

Anko and Kurenai shared a look before saying anything. Kurenai spoke first. "Whoever this woman in, she must have something significant about her. Maybe she comes from a noble family here or something."

Hinata used her byakugan to check out the woman internally. "Actually Kurenai-sensei, I think she's a kunoichi. Her muscles are larger than any civilian and her chakra coils are too large to be anything else. Oddly, they remind me of Naru-kun's in terms of size alone."

"So we have here a powerful kunoichi that's unconscious and captured by Kami-knows-who." Anko groaned.

"What else can you tell us Hinata-chan?" Kurenai asked.

"Not much else. Naru-kun's Neo-Byakugan should probably take a look too though."

"Ah speak of the devil." Anko said as Naruto showed up. "I take it they won't find us anytime soon."

Naruto shook his head. "Nope. Shadow clones are amazing that way. But I wouldn't recommend no guards tonight still." He then noticed the new person in the area. "Hey, who's this?"

"I found here being kept in an underwater base by what I presume to be the unwarranted ninja our client told us about." Isaribi answered. "I'd say she's in a coma but somehow stable enough to not need life support."

"That's not normal." Naruto stated, remembering some things Tsunade taught him. "We should take her to a hospital right away."

"If we do that those ninja that contained her will easily be able to reacquire her." Kurenai told him firmly.

Isaribi looked confused. "But Sasame-chan and I got rid of them."

Kurenai shook her head. "It's highly unlikely that there were only two of them to begin with. That base was most likely a safe place to hide themselves and their prisoner. You two most likely only dealt with the place's watchmen, while the real threat was elsewhere."

Isaribi paled. "Oh crap, you mean those two were just the security guards?"

"It's likely. We can't just assume we or her are out of danger just yet. By the way Naruto, can you use your Neo-Byakugan to give her a look over?" Kurenai answered, then asked.

"Sure." Naruto said, then activated his first doujutsu and looked at the woman internally. "Okay, her chakra system appears large but somehow diluted to a dangerous point, her heart is going at a steady pace, her bones are all in one piece, there's nothing wrong with her lungs, and... wow. That's odd."

"What?" Everyone asked, suddenly all ears.

"On her stomach there's what I think are pieces of a broken seal on her, much like..." Naruto suddenly paled.

"Kit, I know this woman." Kyuubi's voice suddenly told him.

'You do? How?' Naruto asked.

"I'll explain in a moment. For now, try to put some of mine and your chakra into her. It'll help her recover." Kyuubi responded.

'Put our chakra into her? Are you crazy? Your chakra might kill her.' Naruto mentally shouted.

"Kit, I swear it won't. Believe me, I know her, but I thought she was dead. That's why I didn't recognize her right away. But if it is really her, then our combined chakra should help her right now."

'But what if it doesn't?'

"She's in a coma! Would she really be any worse off?" Kyuubi practically roared.

'Ok ok I see your point.' Naruto sighed, figuring the fox would keep harping on him until he at least made some kind of effort. "I'm going to try something." He told everyone, and then gathered his chakra into his hands for a healing jutsu, with a small amount of Kyuubi's added in.

Upon contact the woman's body jerked, as if stung by something. Naruto worried, but his Neo-Byakugan showed him that her chakra levels were steady rising to a healthy amount. Suddenly the woman gasped and sighed, making Naruto stop. The woman tilted her head to the side, the first signs of voluntary movement she had ever showed, and her eyelids twitched and then slowly opened to reveal deep violet eyes.

She tried to speak, but only a cough came out. She then tried to sit up, but her body wouldn't cooperate. Even her arms protested her mental commands. So she resorted to just lying there, asking the people with her gaze just where she was.

"Kit, say hello to your mother." Kyuubi said.


	26. Kushina

_To those that brought it up, I went back and fixed Kushina's eye color._

Ch. 26 Kushina

"Kit, say hello to your mother." Kyuubi said.

At hearing those words, Naruto froze up like any normal orphan would. It wasn't out of belief or disbelief or anything similar, but out of sheer surprise.

"My... mother?" Naruto said out loud without realizing it, making everyone, including the redheaded woman, give him their full attention.

"Your mother? Naru-kun what do you mean by that?" Hinata asked before anyone else could.

"Kyuubi says... she's my mother." He added, still in shock.

"How would he know?" Anko asked.

"Kit, don't have a meltdown here, but I can explain this for you." Kyuubi said to Naruto. "Your mother was actually my host before you."

'So that's how you know her?' Naruto asked.

"Yes. But unlike you, she and I never had the chance to make the bloodline deal so I was trapped in her in a bad way. I think the seal on her was different so I couldn't communicate with her like I do you. When you were born, the seal was at it's weakest so I took the chance to break free so I wouldn't die with her later on. I guess fate wasn't on our side because that piece of shit Madara Uchiha showed up and took control of my mind. I can't remember what happened after that, but I always figured your mother was dead."

'Why didn't you tell me this before?' Naruto asked.

"When was I supposed to tell you? The timing never felt right. And if I did have the right chance, what was I supposed to say? 'Hey Kit, I knew your mother but she's dead now as far as I know?' Besides, I figured if those three guardians of yours wanted you to know about that night by now, they would have told you and then I would have too. But now it's unavoidable. Go ahead and tell the others what I told you. And if you don't believe me, ask her if her name is Kushina." Naruto knew the name for the same reason he knew the name Minato.

Naruto sighed and faced his group. "Kyuubi tells me that my mother was his last host but he thought she died the day I was born." He then faced the woman who was his presumed mother, who had been looking solely at him this entire time. "Is your name Kushina?" Her eyes widened more and she tried to say 'yes' but her voicebox didn't cooperate so she just nodded. "Kushina Uzumaki?"

She tried again, and got a whisper out this time. "That... was my... maiden name... My current name is... Kushina... Namikaze."

That convinced Naruto better than anything else. No one else besides the sannin, Anko, and Hinata knew his father was Minato Namikaze. Only his real mother would know this too. "What was your child's name?" He asked.

"I had a... son. His name's... Naruto." Kushina said as she tried to sit up, her atrophized muscles protesting.

Forgetting any previous suspicion, Naruto helped her stay up. "I can't believe this. How is this possible?"

"Naruto-kun, are you sure this really is your mother?" Isaribi asked.

Kushina tried to look at Naruto again. "Is your name... Naruto?" Her voice had gotten a little louder now.

He nodded. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, son of Minato Namikaze and student to Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru." He used those names in hopes she would recognize them.

It worked, for Kushina started crying. "My son? But how? How long was I out?"

"My guess is about thirteen years if you haven't seen Naruto here since he was born." Kurenai answered.

Kushina kept crying. "Thirteen... years?" He tried to hold Naruto. "My son... I'm so sorry."

"Wait, if she's been in a coma for thirteen years straight, why'd she wake up now?" Fuu asked.

"I can answer that one for them kit." Kyuubi told Naruto. "You see, in my time here I've noticed traces of other chakras in the seal keeping me in here. One I immediately recognized as your mothers, and I think the other one belongs to your father too. I think they were put in here as a sort of failsafe if the seal started weakening and you and I were on bad terms. When you and I helped increase her chakra levels, I pushed the bit of your mother's chakra in here went back into her body as well. And I think that combined with my own chakra, which her system is used to dealing with, helped jumpstart her back to consciousness."

'Wow that's great.' Naruto happily thought, then proceeded to tell everyone what the fox had told him almost word for word.

"So you really are my son?" Kushina asked after hearing he had the kyuubi in him. Her voice sounded at normal strength now. She then pulled him into a hug, which would have been bonecrushing if she were at full strength, which not even a former jinchuuriki could be right away after a thirteen year coma. "I'm so glad I can see you grown up now. You must tell me everything that's happened. Who raised you? How did you do in the academy? Do you have a girlfriend yet?"

Naruto patted her back. "Settle down Mom. You don't want a stroke do you?"

"Sorry, but I thought I lost you. I have so much catching up to do and I want to do it all right away."

"Well I can tell you he does have a girlfriend if that helps." Hinata said, leaning against Naruto for emphasis and trying to ignore the small glares she got from the other girls.

Kushina smiled, then stopped. "Wait, Naruto, why are you and all these girls wearing those hitai-ates. That's not the Konoha symbol."

Naruto gulped then, dreading this. "Well Mom, umm... it's kind of a long story."

"I can barely stand up. I've got time to listen." Kushina told him.

"Uh Kushina-san, perhaps it would be better if I told you." Anko interjected.

"Why? Who are you?"

"I'm Anko Mitarashi, your son's sensei and older sister."

Kushina looked surprised. "So your family took care of my son?"

Anko paused. "Well technically you're right, but not in the way you're thinking of."

"What do you mean?" Kushina asked.

"Otouto, do you want me to handle this for you?" Anko asked Naruto rather than answer the question.

"Maybe it would be best if you helped me tell her." He told Anko.

Anko nodded. "Okay, let's get her into a tent. Too many people around will make us all uncomfortable for this. Kurenai-chan, can you keep everyone busy for the time being?"

Kurenai nodded. "Okay, Haku, Fuu, Sasame, patrol the area for any threats. You know what counts as threats. Isaribi, Hinata, check on Momochi-san in the other tent." Zabuza had been asleep then whole time Kushina was here.

The kunoichi nodded, and left to do their tasks, but not before Hinata managed to give Naruto a comforting kiss. Kushina smiled, and was carried into a tent by Naruto and Anko to hear of Naruto's past.

* * *

Kakashi was keeping an eye on his two male students Sasuke and Kiba with his dog Akamaru, who were working on treewalking that night and reading his coveted smut at the same time. His female student Sakura was at the clients home doing domestic stuff to help out Tsunami, or so Kakashi assumed. While his two students were about to reach the top, a huge wave of KI all of a sudden washed over the area, making them stumble, fall to the ground, and piss themselves. Kakashi even dropped his porn book and almost wet himself as he lost his balance on his crutches and fell down like his students.

'Holy crap. I haven't felt KI like that in thirteen years.'

"What the hell was that?" Kiba asked with Akamaru whimpering and trying to hide in his jacket.

"I don't know." The cycloptic jounin answered. 'It reminds me of the Kyuubi, except angrier.'

At the same time, one of Naruto's clones, which had been taking to Inari about their pasts together and trying to show the boy others have rough times too, felt the KI as well and instinctively disspelled to avoid being caught by the perceived threat. Inari wondered what was going on, but also kept the clone's words in mind and spent the rest of the night thinking it over.

* * *

Back in Konoha, Danzou was not happy. "Care to repeat that?" He said to the monitor he was observing in his residence.

On the screen was one of his ROOT ninja, currently away on assignment. "I'm sorry Danzou-sama, but our station in Wave has been destroyed and the prisoner has yet to be found. It's probable they drowned, as I've heard no word from Ukishi or Sarigi."

Danzou stomped his cane into the floor. "Dammit. All these years of trying to revive our rightful weapon wasted. Do you have any idea who's responsible for this?"

"Unfortunately no Danzou-sama. The distress beacon informed us of the damage being done in the base but we have yet to find any evidence of the culprit. With Ukishi and Sarigi who were watching the base and prisoner at the time unaccounted for, I'm fairly certain they're dead and at the hand of a competent ninja used to watery terrain."

"So Kiri is the most likely culprit?" Danzou asked. His agent nodded. "Is it possible that whoever did this took off with the prisoner?"

"I suppose it is sir, but why would they do that? Surely you're the only one who knows that she's even still alive or what exactly she is." The ROOT nin replied.

"Perhaps there has been a leak. After all, how did this threat even know to look for a ninja base underwater in the first place?"

The agent nodded. "I see your point Danzou-sama. My partner and I will see if we can locate the prisoner and bring her back to you."

"But not directly to Konoha. We don't want that soft idiot Sarutobi to see her. Report back to me upon further discovery. Dismissed." Danzou ordered before turning off the monitor.

The semi-crippled war hawk then stood up and sighed. 'Dammit all. It was nothing less than a stroke of luck that I found that bitch unconscious instead of dead and got her body hidden before anyone else could confirm it. For years I've been trying to get that jinchuuriki to revive so I could seal her and get her under my control like that demon brat should have been a decade ago. Sarutobi if I didn't know better I'd swear you were interfering yet again.'

Before he walked away he said only one thing out loud. "Nidaime, why did you choose Sarutobi over me?"

* * *

Before Naruto and Anko told Kushina everything there was she tried to storm out of the tent and find someone to kill in a horrible horrible way. The only things that stopped her were her son's pleas to wait and the fact her body had yet to recover. Thanks to the chakra Kyuubi had given her, her body was quickly returning to normal, but she would need to work out a bit before she was ready to do much with it again. By the time the two were done, Kushina still wanted to kill some people from Konoha.

After they finished, Kushina held Naruto maternally and began to tell him how her own life. How she got to Konoha and why the Kyuubi was put in her. Her own dream of being the first female hokage, and her growing connection to Minato. And especially what happened the day he was born. Naruto interrupted her only once to ask one question. "Wait, you said the Kyuubi's claw pierced you, so how did you survive?"

Kushina thought it over. "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. Your father took a good amount of the hit too so I wasn't as hurt, but I don't think that's the real reason."

Kyuubi added in his own opinion. "Kit, I think when I left her, some of my chakra must have remained in her system. How else would she be so mobile after giving birth and having half of her chakra suddenly gone in an instant? Maybe after I pierced her, the remaining bit healed her wound and afterwards the loss of so much chakra sort of shocked her system into a coma until it could stabilize."

Naruto repeated this theory out loud. Anko nodded. "Yes, I can see that happening."

Kushina tightened her hold on her son. "Naruto, Kyuubi, thank you. I swear I'll never leave you again."

"So you're okay with going to Oto when this mission's done?" He asked to confirm his suspicions.

"Where else would I go?" Kushina asked. "Uzu's gone and if I go to Konoha I'm not leaving until everyone who deserves to die does."

Anko pulled out some paper and started writing something down. "In that case I better inform Otokage-sama of your arrival." Once she finished writing about Kushina's presence and a gist of her history, she summoned Kogyoku. "Please take this to Jii-san, and if you can, bring any messages from him to us."

"Will do, Anko-san." The purple snake said before taking the message in her mouth and disappearing.

"I bet his return message will be quite colorful." Anko muttered non-irritably.

* * *

Back in Oto, Orochimaru got the message just before he was about to get a shower. He read it, and called for the Alto's. "Bring me Tsunade and Jiraiya right now!"

They came to him in less than a minute, and he showed them the message from Anko. Tsunade was the first to respond. "What the fuck?"

"How is this possible?" Jiraiya added.

"I don't know, but it looks like Konoha has more to answer for than we thought." Orochimaru said hostilely.

"How much worse do you think it can get?" Jiraiya asked.

"I'm afraid to find out, and yet I'm afraid we will find out." Tsunade answered wearily.


	27. Assaults

Ch. 27 Assaults

The next morning everyone in the Oto group woke up practically simultaneously and stretched out in the open. Kushina woke up a little sooner and got a head start on the stretching, her body still not fully cooperative. Kurenai got started on preparing them some food that Zabuza had previously collected for them.

Anko gathered all the genin and made sure her fellow jounin could hear this as well. "Already everyone, last night I sent Otokage-sama a report with information on our new 'discovery', no offense Kushina-san."

"None taken." The redhead replied while starting some push ups.

"Anyway, I got a message back from him and his top advisers. The decision was apparently mutual. From now on, we are no longer ordered to hold back and avoid as much conflict as possible with any Konoha forces. We don't have to work at trying to avoid a possible international incident anymore. Still, this should not mean we need to rush into a fight looking for blood. It's just now if they attack us we have every right to fight back with lethal intent rather. So I don't want to see you guys heading to the Konoha team with any malicious ideas, just yet anyway." Anko continued.

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"Well, given the circumstances your mother told us, combined with what we already know about them, wanting to hurt Konoha will be more justifiable now." Anko answered. "However, in the long run doing it right now will have minimal effect but it could still spark a war if Konoha felt vengeful enough. Oto's only advantages now are our allies and our unknown location. But Konoha has three clans specializing in tracking, so we can't remain hidden forever if they try to find us. And Jiraiya-sama would be asked by the hokage to search as well, which will put him in an awkward position. Sure, he can fake no results for a while, but sooner or later someone will suspect something."

"If Oto was caught off guard, we'd be able to put up a good fight, but in the end we'd lose because we lack the numbers Konoha has." Kurenai told them. "If they sent a lot after they find it that is, which they might. If they didn't, then we'd have the numbers and home turf advantage, which Konoha might not risk fighting against."

"In any case, the best option Oto would have is to strike Konoha as a whole when they least suspect it." Zabuza added.

"But wouldn't that give them an even bigger numbers advantage? And the home turf one too?" Naruto asked.

"If we included our allies, the odds increase in our favor. Besides, never underestimate the value of the element of surprise. It's part of what makes my methods so effective." Zabuza answered.

"Excuse me, but why exactly are we talking like we've already decided to assault Konoha?" Fuu asked, raising her hand to get everyone's attention.

Anko sighed and crossed her arms. "To be honest, that was actually decided a long time ago. Before you even set foot in Oto girl."

Kurenai approached her student. "Remember Fuu, Oto was founded as a haven for ninja that were mistreated in their original villages. Konoha and Kiri especially. It's always been suspected that someday Oto would have to make a direct stand against one or both of those two. And Konoha is the more likely because the sannin know it best and it's easier to get there for us and our allies than Kiri is."

"We're not saying we're hoping for a war. We just want you all to be aware it may happen within your lifetime, and with the info that Kushina-san here has given us, it might come sooner than expected." Anko clarified. "In any case, let's forget about that for a while and get back to training and our jobs. I'll pay our client a visit when the times right to discuss something with them, and you guys should search around for more threats. Otouto, you stay with your mother in case anyone comes looking for her."

Everyone nodded, and left to do their duties, leaving Naruto with his estranged mother at their campsite. He soon joined her in her exercises and they made small talk about nothing in particular. After a little bit, he created two shadow clones and they went off separately into the forest.

* * *

Anko kept a close eye on Tsunami's house, waiting for a moment when none of the Konoha shinobi were there. From what she could tell, none of them were there, but she was still careful about approaching. She jumped from a tree branch and landed on the ground, only to hear a thump follow her and instinctively turned ready to maim. Luckily she didn't succeed. "Otouto? What are you doing here?"

"Actually, I'm a clone. The real Naruto sent me because another clone last night was talikng to the client's kid and didn't get to finish. He wanted to know if the kid thought about what he told him."

Anko raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly did he tell the young boy?"

"That he shouldn't go around acting like he's the only one life's been rough too. He only lost his father but that's it. Some people out there lost both parents like you or never knew their own, like the boss. So he should get off his self-pity trip and stop assuming he's the only one who's ever wanted to cry."

"Good advice. Let's see if he took it." Anko told the clone. 'It's actually a good idea a clone came along. If something does happen to me the real otouto will know and respond right away.' Naruto already knew the fact that shadow clone memories returned to him when they dispelled.

The two silently got to the house, hoping to draw no attention to themselves. So far so good. Anko knocked on the door in hopes that Tsunami would be the one to answer it. She wanted to tell the woman that so far they already weakened the threat she hired them to investigate and if possible get some more information from her on the threat.

No one answered, and Anko got suspicious. The Naruto clone was about to knock a second time, but she caught his hand and shook her head disapprovingly. "Something must be wrong. Use your Neo-Byakugan."

The clone activated the doujutsu, and quickly paled. Without bothering to explain anything, he kicked down the door with a chakra-enhanced kick and charged inside. Anko wondered what his problem was until she looked inside. There she saw Tsunami being held by one man dressed mostly in black with a hand over her mouth and the other across her stomach, making her his prisoner. She rushed inside too to help out the clone of his little brother.

The Naruto clone tried to use the juuken lessons Naruto got from Hitomi to use with the Neo-Byakugan to disable his target. With said target's arms occupied, he couldn't defend himself properly, so he used a kawarimi to get away. "I'll check outside." He told Anko before going out.

Anko looked over the older woman. "You okay?"

Tsunami nodded. "Hurry, one went upstairs. I think my son's in danger!"

The jounin rushed upstairs and saw there was a second black-clocked shinobi tried to hold down the young boy. Inari was protesting his capture but not doing an effective job at it. "Striking Shadow Snakes." She cried as half a dozen small summoned snakes emerged from her sleeves to entangle the enemy. These particular snakes combined the attributes of constrictors and venomous snakes, so it was virtually impossible to defend against them once they got to their prey.

They wrapped around the limbs and neck of the enemy and simultaneously bit down on an exposed body part. The unidentified man convulsed in pain and tried to get them off, giving Inari the chance to scuttle away towards his rescuer. While the black-clad shinobi tried to do pull out a weapon to kill the young boy, Anko pulled out a kunai and rushed forward, managing to cut the man's neck open. Once she did, the whole body turned to mud and collapsed on the floor of the hallway.

"Damn, a clone." Anko mumbled irritably and the summoned snakes went away. Then she looked at Inari. "Your mother's downstairs and safe. Go console her while I check for more threats."

He nodded. "Thanks. I'm sorry if I was rude to you guys before. I just..."

"Save it for when we can relax." Anko told him before jumping out the window. Inari then went downstairs to reassure Tsunami he was okay.

Once outside Anko saw the other enemy ninja but not the clone of Naruto, meaning it had been dispelled. On the plus side the enemy was down panting and looked unable to move as much as he wanted to. She recognized it as juuken damage and casually approached. "So are you a clone too, or are you the real one?"

The downed man barely lifted his head. He was obviously in pain, but his face didn't show it. "You have something that belongs to my master. And you are interfering with his client's plans."

"So you work for Gato eh?" Anko said with a devilish smirk.

"I work for the man behind Gato, who is but a pawn for my master's plan here."

Anko lost the smirk. 'Wait a minute. Gato, the man who's running this country into the ground, is doing someone elses bidding?' She leaned in closer, but not too close, to look more intimidating. "Tell me what you know if you want to rest in one piece."

"Never." Her captive answered before decaying into mud like the last guy.

"Damn. Obviously a mud clone that just ran out of chakra. But where are the real ones?" She asked herself. "And more importantly, who's behind all this here?"

Then Naruto, the real one, came from out of the trees. "Nee-chan. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, problem solved. But they were just clones. The real ones are probably up to something worse." She answered.

"I sent a clone with Hina-chan and the others too. Maybe they're at the bridge right now." He told her.

"Then let's get going. By the way, everything should be fine here, but leave some more clones just in case." She told him.

"Gotcha." Naruto said before creating twenty clones to safeguard the house. Then Anko and the original headed off towards the unfinished bridge.

"By the way, where's Kushina-san going to be in all of this?" Anko asked.

"Where she is now, since she can't fight just yet. And I left some clones with her too in case anyone finds her." Naruto answered.

"Probably the best idea." Anko said.

* * *

On the bridge things weren't going so well. The Konoha team had gotten there first with the intent of protecting Tazuna, as was their job.

They didn't have to wait long, as two new ninja took the opportunity to leave their hiding spot under the bridge and try to attack the unaware genin. Kakashi moved quickly and blocked them, but they pulled back before he could do any distance to them. The two new ninja were dressed identically in black jounin outfits, sans vest, with mesh covering the ankles and forearms. One had short black hair brushed back and wore red gloves while the other had dark brown hair that looked similar to Naruto's and wore dark blue fingerless gloves. Both had a ninjato at their hips but neither were drawn yet, and neither seemed to be showing any expression, even for a professional shinobi.

Sakura took an immediate guarding position by Tazuna with a single kunai in her hand. Kiba cracked his knuckles with Akamaru on the bridge growling. And Sasuke just gave the newcomers a deadpan look, as if to say they weren't worth the effort to look tough. Kakashi stood before all of his students ready to handle this. 'I wonder if they're connected to Zabuza Momochi or the Demon Brothers from earlier.'

The brown-haired nin rushed towards Kakashi much like how Gai would have. Kakashi threw a few shuriken but his target just deflected them as if they were origami instead of metal. The cycloptic ninja managed to at least block a kick from this guy, but it felt pretty strong and stung his arm. Luckily sparing with Gai for years helped raise his endurance.

Meanwhile, the black-haired ninja started a set of hand signs. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu." He then spat out a large blame of flame at Kakashi. His ally got out of the way but so did his target.

Now Sasuke looked mad, since he didn't like the idea of others using his techniques. He charged forward angrily to give this guy a taste of his own fireball, but he was noticed so both prepared one at the same time. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu." Both cried out at the same time, with both fireballs impacting each other. However, the other guy was stronger and more experienced so he could make a stronger one than Sasuke could, so the genin's attack was overwhelmed. At least his attack prevented him from getting hurt by the other one. But once the smoke cleared, he felt several kunai hit his arms and legs, making him fall to his knees in agony.

Kiba got anxious and decided to contribute to the fight as well. "Fang Over Fang." He shouted as he and Akamaru spun around, creating drilling cyclones to maximize damage to their enemy. They both tried to hit the one attacking Kakashi, but he proved too nimble for them to hit right away and Kiba ended up going over the bridge and into the water. Akamaru stopped the attack and jumped in to try and help him.

'Kiba you idiot.' Kakashi dryly thought. 'Fang Over Fang only works like that when you have enough room and ground for it to. Which you don't have on an incomplete bridge.' He couldn't go help his student as the enemy shinobi wasn't giving him an opening yet.

"Tazuna-san, we should try to get you out of here. All the others have; so should you." Sakura told the old man.

"That's not such a bad idea." Tazuna said fearfully.

Once he and the pinkette turned around, they saw the black-haired ninja stand before them, having moved to them after downing Sasuke. "Who said you can go anywhere?"

Sakura wanted to attack him for daring to hurt Sasuke, but if he couldn't make a scratch her own chances weren't good and she knew it. So all she could do was hope someone could help her in time.

Someone did, but it wasn't one of her team members. Mist suddenly condensed around the area, making it difficult to see a thing. Then it got cold, as if winter just started. The black-haired ninja moved to get away from an attack Sakura didn't see, but she could see that the ground he had been standing on was now frozen.

"What is going on now?" She asked herself.


	28. Bridge

Ch. 28 Bridge

The mist condensed and spread across the bridge, like something out of a horror novel. It moved as if it was alive, present to engulf whoever was in it's way. And it was accompanied by an unseasonal chill, that froze the moisture in the air into small bits of frost that clinged to everything around it. The genin on the bridge wondered for a moment if this was a natural phenomenon of the area, but the others had no doubts as to it's nature.

The two enemies of the leaf ninja got together and stood back-to-back, keeping their eyes open for anything or anyone that may soon appear. Kakashi quickly got to Sasuke and pulled him over to Sakura and Tazuna. He wanted to go get Kiba too but didn't want to leave his other students unguarded against an unidentified threat. "Be on your guard. Someone else has just shown up, and they're probably not allies."

"Heart, brain, jugular, lung, aorta, kidney, spinal column. These are just some of the locations on the human body where one attack can be deadly." A ghastly sinister voice almost whispered over the entire area, loud enough to be heard by all but not so loud that it felt like it was shouting.

Sakura was shaking in fear. "What was that?" She looked to Sasuke in hopes of reassurance, but saw he was no more certain than she was.

Meanwhile, Kiba and Akamsaru had gotten back up on the bridge. "Whoa, where'd all this come from now?"

"Kiba, quiet down. Don't let anyone hear where you are." Kakashi whispered into the intercom link he had with his students.

"Yeah baka! Don't make any noise!" Sakura shouted to her teammate after hearing Kakashi's orders.

Everyone there gave her disapproving deadpan looks. "You clueless idiot." Sasuke groaned.

Sakura looked hurt. "Sa-Sasuke-kun? Why did you say that? I'm no idiot."

'Then why do you keep talking?' was a shared thought between Sasuke, Kakashi, Tazuna, and Kiba.

Kiba and Akamaru tried to sniff out any scents in the fog and hear any footsteps approaching. Kakashi was tempted to summon some dogs but he didn't want to risk revealing his position any more than his kunoichi student already had.

Meanwhile, the two unidentified shinobi were trying to form a battleplan. "Hey, Ajiro, can you get rid of this mist?" The brown-haired one asked the black-haired one since his partner specialized in ninjutsu while he himself was the taijutsu expert of the two.

The man dubbed Ajiro shook his head. "Sorry Hattori, I don't know any wind style tactics. But maybe I can do something." He then went thru six hand signs. "Fire Style: Sauna Steam Jutsu." From his mouth burst forth a long stream of hot air that evaporated most of the water in the atmosphere, making the fog significantly lighter and easier to see thru.

Once the fog died down, everyone could see someone new crouched and waiting. It was a tall slender man in a white tank top with his face obscured by wrappings. His hair was black and his eyes were a dark purple with no eyebrows. On his back was a large black sword shaped much like a large long cleaver with a hole in it. The Konoha team recognized him right away as Zabuza Momochi.

'He's back. Is he working for Gato on roders to get rid of Tazuna? I gotta stop him for sure this time.' Kakashi said to himself.

Zabuza himself didn't appear to do much except stand up and brandish him sword. He was daring someone else to make the first strike. Since no one appeared to be in a rush to challenge him, Kiba took the lead. "If everyone else is going to be a coward, then I'll show you who's the bravest. Fang Over Fang." This time Akamaru stayed out of it.

Zabuza stepped out of the way of the human drill, but fortunately for Kiba this time he landed on the bridge rather than the water so he continued his attack only to miss again. But when Zabuza dodged, the shinobi called Hattori managed to assault him from behind with a few good solid punches. The swordsman responded by turning and trying to cleave his arms but the taijutsu user was more nimble and got out of reach.

Kakashi decided to get involved now that Zabuza was occupied. "Stay guarding the client and keep an eye out for any assistance the enemy may have." He told his students.

Sasuke scoffed. "Heh, I'm not staying out of the fight while dog boy gets to be in it." He then charged forward ready to maim someone. Sakura remained in her position however.

Before Sasuke could get into the fight, someone new appeared from out of nowhere in front of him. This person was the same masked hunter nin who took Zabuza away last time they saw him. It was hard for Sasuke to tell if they were a boy or girl, but he didn't care. A target was a target. "You have no chance of defeating an elite like myself." The Uchiha proclaimed.

"Prove it." Haku said, completely unintimidated.

Sasuke tried to prove it by ambushing her thinking she couldn't react in time. But she did and by doing some kept both of his hands occupied with one of her own. "Big mistake boy. I can still retaliate." She then started a series of one handed hand signs. "Ice Senbon Jutsu." Hundreds of needles made of ice formed in the air and flew to Sasuke, turning him into a human pincushion.

He fell to his knees and used his chakra to warm himself to avoid frostbite and melt the ice weapons. While doing so, Haku prepared another jutsu. "Ice Style: Crystal Ice Mirrors." A dome of connected mirrors with small gaps in between them covered the Uchiha, and Haku stepped inside one of them thanks to the dimensional rift the jutsu provided it's user. "There's no escape from it prison. But don't just take my word for it. See for yourself." She proceeded to throw numerous ice senbon at him from all directions thanks to the enhanced speed this jutsu provided as well.

Zabuza had his hands full, but saw his adoptive daughter was doing just fine. 'Attagirl Haku. I wonder what's keeping the others.' It was easy for him to block against Hattori's attacks but Kakashi proved to be as strong an annoyance as last time. At least Kakashi and Hattori were fighting each other as well so he wasn't the only target they both had in mind.

Kiba was being kept busy by Ajiro. He stopped using Fang Over Fang but now he and his dog were using Beast Mimicry and Man-Beast Clone to fight. Ajiro made it difficult for them to get close enough to fight with his fire jutsus, but they also proved difficult to hit.

Sasuke was getting his ass handed to him by Haku, and even his fire jutsus weren't helping him out as much as he thought they would. Apparently ice jutsus didn't use normal ice so they couldn't be melted that easily. As the barrage of needles came, which slowed him down more and more but did little to actually threaten his life, he felt a new kind of pain, in the back of his eyes. It grew until his sight briefly went black, as if he had stood up too fast. Then his vision returned, and it was sharper than before. He didn't have a mirror, but he knew what happened. He had activated his sharingan at last.

Heh, now I can't possibly lose. Not that losing was ever an option for me in the first place." Sasuke said.

"Ooh so your eyes changed color? Big deal. I know another who can do the same and his eyes are much better to look at." Haku said, trying hard to conceal any interest in her voice.

Sasuke frowned. "You dare mock the invincible Sharingan?"

"Yes I do, because how is seeing things better going to help you here? They won't help you at all if I manage to blind you."

Sasuke glared but got an idea. Haku readied another wave of senbon, but before they made contact, Sasuke made a substitution with Sakura, as she was the closest person there. So the pinkette took the attack meant for him, and since she didn't spend much time training physically, she couldn't withstand the pain as well as Sasuke did and collapsed and cried.

'Using a teammate to save his own skin? No wonder Naruto-kun and the others don't trust those from Konoha.' Haku thought.

Sasuke stood outside the dome and readied his attack. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu." He presumed the defense was weaker on the outside since it seemed designed to target those on the inside. It made contact and the whole thing shattered, making him feel proud of himself, for once based on his accomplishments than his arrogance. His smile disappeared when he saw Haku stand before him next to the hurt Sakura. "Give up. I've found your weakness so you can't possbily win."

"You found nothing. You didn't destroy my dome, I got rid of it myself. Had I not, you would have endangered your teammate further. And I was taught deliberately endangering one's own comrade is a grave ninja crime."

"She should be honored that for once she was of use to me. Now she can die happy." Sasuke said.

"Dear Kami man you could at least pretend you're bothered by what you did to her."

Sasuke scoffed. "Why should I?"

Under her mask, Haku glared back. 'Okay, this guy needs to be taught several lessons in humility.'

Back with the others, Zabuza and Kakashi were the only ones fighting in their battle. Hattori had been killed when Kakashi managed to sneak up behind him and cut the back of his throat with a kunai, then pierced his right lung for good measure. So now the two jounins from Konoha and Oto were squared off. Zabuza strengthened the hidden mist jutsu but Kakashi summoned his dogs to locate the former Kiri shinobi.

Kiba and Akamaru collapsed after taking a hit from Ajiro. They were still alive but now immobile. He stood above them ready to carve their bodies to pieces, but then found he himself could not move. A tree appeared from out of nowhere behind him and the branches moved to hold him in place. He tried to make the hand signs for another fire jutsu but the smaller branches held his hands in place and were too strong to just break. As he struggled, a woman came out of the tree and stabbed him in the heart with a kunai, then twisted it around to get in in deeper. No one heard his cries of pain before he died, but Kakashi did see it happen.

Zabuza found himself trapped by Kakashi's summons, and Kakashi readied his chidori to finish the man now that he couldn't move. Zabuza was both impressed and terrified of the lightning blade. Kakashi ran up to him, ready to pierce him thru his upper torso and destroy some vital organs in the process. But before he could make contact, a bunch of shuriken came from his left side that were low enough to damage his legs. And since he was running with an active chidori, he couldn't just stop or change direction, or for that matter concentrate hard enough to avoid the weapons while he moved. So his ankles got one shuriken in them each making him fall on his face and his chidori damaging only the stones it landed on.

Zabuza took the chance to pull one kunai out of his pocket and attack the dog he could reach with it. It got away, but that freed his arm to attack more and thus he soon became completely mobile again. Two of the dogs tried to repin him but he gave them some deep cuts on their front legs, making them whimper. Then he grabbed his sword and no dog made an effort to try again.

Sasuke was trying to kill Haku, who proved to be unwilling to cooperate with his wishes. His sharingan wasn't at full strength yet having just been activated so he couldn't see her future movements or knowingly mimic the ones he did see. Haku, well aware of some of what the sharingan can do thanks to Naruto's own version, showed no specific taijutsu and used only her kekkei genkai for offense and defense since he couldn't copy that. It was all frustrating the Uchiha since victory wasn't coming as naturally to him as he assumed it would.

Kakashi pulled out the shuriken and got back on his feet. He saw Zabuza was standing too, but now there was a young girl with long orange hair standing next to him with a katana out and ready to be used. On this girl he could make out the symbol on the hitai-ate was a music note, a mark he didn't recognize, and only now noticed was on Zabuza's hitai-ate as well. 'I guess after leaving Kiri he became part of a new village or group. But I've never heard of one with that emblem.'

"Thanks for saving my ass Sasame-san." Zabuza told the girl.

"No sweat, and Gato should be here any second. It'll all be over soon."

Kakashi wondered what she meant, but didn't ask anything. The claim that the man who wanted his client dead was coming made him decide to postpone any attempt to kill Zabuza now.

Sasuke din't hear that and even if he did it was likely he wouldn't had made the same decision. The problem was that Haku was starting to run low on energy and couldn't keep this up for much longer. She would have to either escape or start using movements that could be copied and maybe anticipated. She stopped to catch her breath, but Sasuke threw one of his large collapsible shuriken at her. The one of the metal support beams of the bridge bent to intercept it, making both Sasuke and Haku blink in confusion.

Naruto stepped out of the fog and approached Haku. "You okay Haku-chan?"

She blushed brightly. "I am now that you're here."

"Who the hell are you?" Sasuke demanded.

Naruto gave him a confident look. "Someone who's going to be equal to a kage someday. That's all you need to know."


	29. Surprises

__

This story has now officially surpassed "Naruto's Kit" in every way except length. You'll find some odd behavior in Team 7 here and in future chapters, but there's a reason for it all. They're not being bashed just for the hell of it.

Ch. 29 Surprises

"Who the hell are you?" Sasuke demanded.

Naruto gave him a confident look. "Someone who's going to be equal to a kage someday. That's all you need to know."

Sasuke looked unimpressed. "Whatever. You are not an Uchiha therefore you are nobody."

'Whoa, check out the ego on this guy.' Naruto thought. "I'd love to chat with you on how wrong you are, but I've got a job to do." He then lifted Haku up bridal style, making her blush and feel a little turned on, and then took her away from the area.

Sasuke glared. "S-Sasuke-kun, aren't you going to help me get someplace safe?" Sakura asked as she tried to get closer to him, hoping he'd do for her what Naruto did for Haku.

"No one's trying to hurt you so there's no point. Leave me alone so I can show my strength." He then left her to go try and kill Zabuza from behind, but Sasame blocked him.

"I'll help you up." Tazuna said as he lifted Sakura back on her feet and led her away from the area. "I just hope they don't damage the bridge too much."

"What's that?" Sakura asked as she heard many footsteps approach them. She and Tazuna tried to get a good look, but the fog wasn't making it easy.

Back with the others, Naruto got to Zabuza and Sasame. "Everything holding up?"

"Yeah, we did our part. Now we just need the target to show up." Sasame told him.

Kurenai then shushined next to the other Oto nin. "Everyone's in place. Time to finish the job."

"Who the hell are all you people?" Kakashi asked.

Everyone gave him flat looks, but Kurenai responded for them. "The Sound works best in silence." This was a coded message for them to both confuse their enemies and inform their allies of their origins, from back when they didn't wear hitai-ates on the job.

"What? What does that mean?" Kakashi asked.

"It's exactly what it sounds like." The kunoichi told him, if for nothing else then to shut him up about it for now. "Zabuza-san, clear the mist a little but not too much. We still need it for a bit longer."

"Gotcha." He said then weaken the mist surrounding the place. Now it was easier to see but the overall bridge and surrounding area was still obscured from view. Now that it had been reduced, it was easier to see a silhouette in the fog away from them all. This cleared even more, and Gato was revealed to be standing there with several hired goons behind him.

Naruto looked bothered. "That's the guy? I was expecting someone... well, taller at least."

The dwarf looked ticked at hearing that. "Watch what you say brat. I'm a very powerful man with more money and connections than some daimyo's."

"Trying to compensate for something then?" Naruto asked, making Sasame laugh a little.

"You think you and your ninja are so tough just because you got rid of those two lackeys my partner gave me? They were disposable from the beginning and meant to do a different job. The people with me now however are meant to do away with punks like yourself." Gato told the blonde ninja.

None of the Oto nin looked intimidated or impressed. "You don't really think a bunch of brawlers can defeat a group of training shinobi do you?"

Gato snapped his fingers instead of answering. He expected his hired help to charge forth and eradicate the nuisances, but they didn't move. "Did you not hear me? Get rid of them!" Again they remained still. "What's the matter with you all? I said-" He tried to grab the shirt of one of the goons, only for it to go thru the fabric instead of grab it. "What the hell?"

Kurenai smirked. "Genjutsu release!" Suddenly the mob of men with weapons vanished to reveal Hinata, Isaribi, and Fuu in their place. "You didn't have a clue did you? While you were busy watching the fight on the bridge, we eliminated your squadron in silent secrecy and replaced them with an illusion." They used a silence barrier over the group of thugs but not Gato, so they eliminated them quickly and used a genjutsu to keep the greedy midget unaware.

Gato was terrified. "How...? Wait, if you spare me, I'll make you incredibly wealthy."

"Sorry, that's not in the job description." Fuu told him.

Sasuke tried to kill the short business tycoon while his back was turned, but Kurenai stuck out her leg at exactly the right moment and he tripped. Kakashi, angered by this, faced the red-eyed woman. "This man is my target so leave me and my team to our job and apologize for what you've done."

Kurenai appeared to think it over. "Hmm... no." She then formed the tiger hand sign.

From behind Kakashi a beam of steel rose and wrapped itself around him. "Nice try, but I saw your genjutsu trick on that other guy. Release!" He tried to dispell it, but the beam wouldn't go away. "Release!" He repeated, only to get the same results.

Kurenai smiled and stepped closer. "Who said this was a genjutsu?"

Naruto then stood next to her. "I'm the one who's got you trapped. She was faking a genjutsu just then." He then turned to face Kurenai. "Want me to add anything sensei?"

'Wait, I get the feeling I should know that kid, but from where?' Kakashi asked himself as he struggled to get free of the metal trap.

"No, just help the girls make sure that other man dies." Kurenai told him.

Naruto tried to, but Sasuke grabbed his shoulder quite aggressibely. "Back down loser. I'm an Uchiha and I say I'm the one who's more fit for that task."

"I don't recall asking for your permission, and I do recall you already mentioning your name so why mention it again? Do you think everyone's so stupid compared to you that you have to remind them all the time who you are?" Naruto said mockingly.

"Shut up. You _will_ respect me." Sasuke declared.

Naruto just turned around and kicked the emo in the nuts. "Will you settle for that instead?" He left to help the girls rather than hear any attempt at an answer.

Hinata, Isaribi, and Fuu surrounded Gato in a triangle formation, looking very intimidating. Naruto showed up and stood between his teammates. "Any last words?"

"What do you want? I'll pay anything!" He pleaded.

Naruto shrugged. "What I want you can't give me."

"Same for us." The three girls said together.

Naruto then made three hand signs. "Metal Style: Piercing Serpent Rod Jutsu." From out of the bridgework came four metal rods that stayed rooted in the bridge but moved like octopus tentacles and seemed to enlongate as they moved. At the ends of each were arrow heads, and all four thrust themselves into the limbs of Gato, hurting him greatly but not killing him.

'That kid has a metal-based kekkei genkai?' Kakashi asked.

Gato was frightened, but only then noticed that they had yet to move from their positions. "What are you waiting for?"

Anko showed up and pointed behind herself. "Them."

Zabuza cleared the mist completely and everyone could see all the inhabitants of the town gathered together on the bridge carrying various tools and weapons. Among them was Tazuna and his family. "I figured these people deserve to settle justice with you their own way. And if they don't want to kill you, we will." Anko added.

Zabuza waved his hand from the villagers towards Gato. "Do as you wish."

No one would ever really know who really killed Gato and destroyed his body that day, but one thing for certain was that it wasn't a ninja of Konoha. By the time Kakashi was able to see the business tyrant again, his body looked like a doll that had been played with for too long and too reckless without repairs, with the head missing as well. Afterwards, he noticed the Oto nin had disappeared and the townspeople were celebrating their regained freedom.

* * *

"Who the hell does that jerk think he is?" Sasuke said bitterly as the Konoha team headed back to Tazuna's house for the night along with the old man, who was drunk from the party with the locals and his crew.

"You're not too hurt are you Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, apparently having completely forgiving him for endangering her before for whatever reason she had. He didn't answer her though, making her worry.

"Whyou caare? He used ya ta save his own hide geerl." Tazuna said with a drunk slur. Sakura glared at him fiercely but in his state of mind it had no effect.

Kakashi walked on in thoughtful silence, trying to make sense of the new shinobi that had shown up. All he could best conclude was that someone else in Wave saw fit to hire ninja protection too but used someone else for the job. The questions now were who did it, where did the ninja come from, and should he worry about them?

They approached the house, and Kakashi immediately noticed the lights were on and there was more noise inside than should be expected from just Tsunami and inari, who had to go back home to his mom rather than stay partying with his grandfather. 'Maybe she's got guests. Tazuna is a popular guy now that people can work on his bridge without fear.'

He opened the door, and his eye widened considerably at seeing the Oto nin inside the house with Tsunami and Inari having a good time. They were clearing partying and not causing trouble, the radio and drinks in evberyone's hands were evident enough to anyone bothering to notice those details.

Too bad genin usually didn't. "Hey, what the hell is going on here?" Kiba asked, flexing his claws and baring his fangs in anticipation of a fight.

All the Oto nin looked at the Konoha team. Naruto was on the couch surrounded by Hinata and Isaribi on both sides, them getting to him first by virtue of being teammates. Anko, Kurenai, Tsunami, and Kushina were over by the table while Zabuza was getting a drink from the fridge. Haku and Fuu were eating while Sasame was keeping the music selection.

"Damn, is the party over already?" Naruto asked.

"You better have a good explanation for-" Kakashi started to demand, but stopped the moment he felt a sudden wave of killing intent impose on him.

"You!" The redheaded woman of the group said with lethal hostility. She tried to storm up to the cycloptic jounin, but Anko, Kurenai, and Tsunami held her back. Only their numbers and the fact that she wasn't at full strength yet made them succeed. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip out this guy's eye and shove it up his ass so he can watch me kick the crap out of him!"

"Believe me Kushina-san, I want that as much as you do, but we shouldn't just charge into a fight with them. Not yet anyway." Anko told the enraged woman.

"Why the fuck not?" Kushina shouted as she continued to struggle.

Kakashi looked like he had seen a ghost. "Ku-Kushina-san?" He asked, finally recognizing her.

The former resident of Whirlpool glared at the Konoha jounin with so much rage one would swear her hair would burst into flames. "Hello Kakashi, long time no see." Her voice held no merriment, only menace.

"It can't be you. You're supposed to be dead." The last Hatake countered.

"You have a small mole on the left side of your lips." She stated.

Kakashi touched his face reflexively. 'How could she possibly know that? The only people outside my family that knew that were my teammates, Sensei, and his girlfriend and all of them are dead.'

"You've got a lot of nerve Kakashi. Minato-kun had a dying wish and you pissed all over it. You're worse than crap." Kushina added.

Naruto got up and approached her. "Okaa-san, calm down. Don't say too much about certain things just yet."

Kushina sighed and relaxed, and the women holding her in place released her. "Thanks son. I'm just so angry at his man right now."

"What the hell did I ever do?" Kakashi asked.

Kushina glared at him all over again. "You made my son's life hell you son of a bitch."

"What are you talking about? I've never seen this kid before. And what do you mean he's your son? Did you cheat on Sensei with someone outside the village?"

Kushina cracked her knuckles. "What do you take me for? A tramp?"

"Kakashi-sensei, just who is this woman?" Sakura asked.

"Kushina Uzumaki, the girlfriend of the yondaime hokage, presumed dead for thirteen years. She was one of our best kunoichi and was considered the only person in the village who could give Yondaime-sama a challenge in a fight." Kakashi explained.

His students were impressed, but Sasuke turned his attention to Naruto. 'This guy caught me off guard earlier. I should see how tough he really is if his mother has that sort of reputation.' He pointed at Naruto. "Fight me."

Naruto blinked. "Hmm... naw."

"I said fight me."

"No thanks."

"I SAID FIGHT ME!"

"Not interested." Naruto said a little more forcibly this time.

Sasuke didn't like this, so he took out a kunai and ran at the blonde with his sharingan active. Naruto tried to block, but Sasuke dodged and thrust his arm forward, stabbing him near the heart.


	30. Punishment

Ch. 30 Punishment

"NARUTO-KUN!" Every teenage girl from Oto shouted as they stood up instantly once they saw the blonde when he took the hit.

To their immediate relief, there was no blood, only a puff of smoke that subsided quickly to reveal a couch pillow with a kunai in it. Naruto was now on the couch completely unharmed thanks to the substitution jutsu he used in the knick of time.

'Thank Kami, I almost had a heart attack just then.' Hinata and the others thought to themselves.

Haku and Fuu were the ones closest to him at the moment so they reached him first, wrapping their arms around him to reassure themselves he was fine. "I'm okay girls, no need to worry."

Sasuke however was not okay. He was seething that the blonde he tried to maim got away without a scratch due to a simple jutsu he didn't see coming, and most assuredly wanted to repeat the attack. However, a redheaded woman had other ideas. Before he could advance to try again, her fist connected with his jaw with slightly less force than that of a small cannonball. He went flying out the front door, which was still open.

"SASUKE-KUN!" Sakura shouted before rushing out the door to check on him.

"Damn, you got a good punch." Kiba commented in awe.

Kushina didn't look impressed by her feat. "Not good enough. I still haven't recovered fully yet."

'Holy shit! She can it _that _hard and that's not her best?' Kiba asked himself.

Kakashi looked at Kushina sternly just then. "I hope you realize you've just committed a capitol offense."

Kushina looked back at her husband's student. "He tried to kill my son and you expect _me_ to be the repentent one? What the fuck happened to you Kakashi?"

"That young man there happens to be the last Uchiha in Konoha, and Sensei's girlfriend or not, I will not have you endangering him for the sake of some statusless bastard child."

There were few things Kakashi could have said that would have made the former jinchuuriki madder than that. Rather than bother to point out Kakashi's verbal mistakes, she settled for punching him even harder than she did Sasuke. Kakashi, being a little drained from using his sharingan on the bridge earlier, didn't react as quickly as he wanted to but he still managed to block her attack.

While the Konoha jounin was briefly occupied, Hinata got up behind him and kicked him in the testicles from behind. "That's for calling my man a 'statusless bastard child'." Kakashi barely heard this as he was too busy clutching himself and falling to his knees.

Kiba saw the former Hyuuga girl and was instantly smitten by her. Of course he couldn't tell that she was connected to that clan because of her contact lenses, but he could tell she was good-looking and feisty. "Hey there cutie. There's a party downtown. Wanna get to know one another? It might help relations between our two villages." Of course he had no idea which village she was from, but it sounded like an acceptable excuse to him.

Hinata responded by kicking him in the groin as well. "I'm taken, and even if I wasn't I'm not interested in leaf nin." Akamaru barked at her and growled, making her give the puppy a dark look. "You wanna be fixed?" The dog then whimpered and hid outside the house.

Sakura reentered the room with a murderous look towards Kushina. "You hurt Sasuke-kun. Die bitch!" For some weird reason Sakura thought she could be on par with a jounin-level nin just then if it was for Sasuke's sake. Too bad Kushina and reality disagreed, for the older kunoichi just backslapped her away. Sakura wasn't knocked out, but when she tried again Sasame hit her in the back of the neck which finished the job.

"May I ask what's going on here?" Tsunami asked. She had invited them into her home to thank them for defeating Gato, but insisted that there be no fighting in her home.

"Sorry about all this. We didn't intent for there to be a fight, but as you saw they started it." Anko explained.

"So what do we do about them now?" Fuu asked.

"Wait, I got an idea. Haku-chan, can you knock them all out first?" Naruto said.

"Sure thing Naruto-kun." The ice-wielder said before pulling out some senbon and hitting pressure points in all four Konoha shinobi, making them immobile and unconscious. "They won't be going anywhere or hearing anything, so continue."

"I was told by Subsonic about this Uchiha guy and they said if I ever got the chance to do something to him I should. I don't think I'd ever get a better chance then this."

"Subsonic? What did they say?" Anko asked.

Subsonic was Oto's hidden agent in Konoha. Jiraiya was really good at spying on Konoha for Oto, but he couldn't be there all the time so Orochimaru needed another source of info. That source was a spy codenamed Subsonic, who watched Konoha when the toad sannin couldn't. The trade-off was that Subsonic couldn't report regularly or often, as opposed to Jiraiya who could report whenever he wanted to. But what Subsonic did report made it worth it.

"Not much. You remember hearing that the Uchiha clan was wiped out a few years ago?" Naruto asked, making Anko, Kurenai, and Zabuza nod.

"Wiped out?" Kushina asked. 'Even Mikoto?'

"Yeah. Apparently one of their own went insane and killed the rest to see if he was strong enough to. But we were told one survived, and I'm guessing that guy outside is that one." Naruto answered.

Kushina nodded, feeling bad for her deceased friend. "Go on."

"Well, Subsonic told me that this last Uchiha was, in their opinion, a royal pain in the ass with no sense of humility whatsoever. The Konoha council, primarily but not limited to the civilian side, pamper him constantly and he takes it all for granted, like he expects it to happen for no other reason than being born. So Subsonic asked me to take him down a peg or two if I could."

Anko smiled. "Nice, but how do you intend to do that?"

Naruto looked directly at his surrogate sister. "Well, Subsonic says that the only real reason that the Konoha council really values him is because he's their one chance at keeping the sharingan in the village. So what would they do if he lost it?"

Anko started laughing lightly, but it erupted into loud bursts. The others followed, but Kushina just looked confused. "What am I missing?"

"Just watch, Kushina-okaa-san." Hinata told her.

"Excuse me?"

"Well, I am betrothed to Naru-kun, so in time you will be my mother-in-law." Hinata explained.

"Just how close are you to my son?"

Hinata smiled. "I've known him for about ten years and loved him for about half that time. Although I'm not the only one. I'll tell you more later."

Naruto meanwhile stood above the unconscious Sasuke, who had been dragged in by Haku. He then activated his Unbloodline kekkei genkai, making everyone in the house lose the ability to use their own or any physical characteristics that were associated with a bloodline. He made the tiger, dragon, rabbit,snake, and sheep hand signs before placing his palms on Sasuke's torso. "Bloodless Pulse Jutsu." A quick surge of chakra glowed around Sasuke then faded. "There, that's one part down."

"What was that Naruto-kun?" Sasame asked.

"A technique I can only use with this kekkei genkai." Naruto answered. "The Unbloodline's biggest weakness is that once the victim leaves the affected area they get their bloodline back. So I designed a method to make the effect of the Unbloodline last longer. Now, with the amount of chakra I used for that jutsu, this guy won't be able to use his kekkei genkai for at least two months. Maybe three."

"Brilliant." Fuu said cheerfully.

"Not done yet. And you all might want to look away for this part."

"Why?" Isaribi asked.

"Subsonic suggested making this guy sterile too, so Konoha couldn't try to get any sperm samples while he can't use his kekkei genkai in hopes of creating some babies that later could use it. Baa-chan showed me a seal to do that, but it has to go on a specific spot."

All the girls nodded slowly in understanding and looked away. Naruto didn't like this part but for his plan it had to be done. Using the sealing tools Jiraiya had given him, Naruto inscribed a seal on Sasuke's genitals that would make him shoot blanks if he ever orgasmed. It would only last about three months, and during that time would remain completely undetectable even if checked for by medic nins. Only someone of Jiraiya's skill or someone taught by him like Naruto could succeed in making such a seal, and only someone like them or Tsunade would be able to find such a thing on a person.

"Done. Now all that's left is the cover-up." Naruto told everyone when it was okay to look again. He also already had his Unbloodline deactivated.

"Cover-up?" Hinata asked.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. We don't want anyone to know why this happened or how, do we?"

"Good point. So what did you have in mind?"

"I'm open to suggestions. Anyone?" Naruto asked.

"If I may, I've got one kit." Kyuubi said. "But you'll have to wait until they're all conscious to do it."

* * *

"Ugh... my head." Sasuke moaned as he opened his eyes and tried to sit up.

"When I get my hands on her..." Sakura irritably muttered as she regained consciousness.

"Oh I forgot what kind of power Kushina-san had." Kakashi mumbled.

Kiba remained silent, with Akamaru returning to check on him.

Everyone opened their eyes to see that Naruto was the only person present, standing there with his arms crossed. Sasuke frowned. "What do you want?"

"This!" He said, then activated his Neo-Sharingan and made eye contact with them all.

The next thing they knew, they were blind for a moment. When they regained their vision, they saw their surrounding were tinted red and the shadows looked darker. Each one of them was by themselves, and heard something approach from outside the house. All but Sakura went outside to check it out, who remained by the door to keep an eye and ear out for trouble.

Sasuke, Kiba, and Kakashi went out eager to get rid of the problem, and saw Zabuza standing there. "For the next 72 hours, you're my bitch."

Kakashi and Sasuke, in their own separate encounters, tried to rush at him with intent to kill, only to find their feet stuck in the ground and unable to budge. Kiba and Akamaru were the same, only they had tried to run away instead. For Sakura, Zabuza barged into the house, said the same thing, and her feet sank into the carpet. For all four, chains appeared out of nowhere and bound their hands together, preventing any jutsu use.

For Kakashi, Sakura, and Kiba, Zabuza would strike them or pierce them with his sword. The wounds were always small but they bled a lot and were no less painful than expected. They also healed quickly, within six seconds. After each strike, Zabuza would count off the remaining time, and no matter how long the strike lasted or the amount of time in between them, the countdown only went down by one second each time.

For Sasuke however, his treatment was special. Zabuza, who was actually Naruto disguised as part of the genjutsu, would form a rasengan and hit various parts of his body at random, with the same countdown method. No body part was left untouched, and with so much time available, each part was struck multiple times.

For Team 7, it was a long 72 hours.

* * *

By the time the Konoha team recovered, the Oto team was back at their camp out and Naruto was exhausted. Hinata was helping him stay standing. "Naru-kun, what exactly did you do back there?"

Naruto sat down in between Kushina and Hinata before answering. "Something Kyuubi told me. It's... the Extreme Tsukuyomi. Technically I shouldn't be able to do it yet, because my Neo-Sharingan isn't at the mangekyo level yet, but with Kyuubi's help I could ignore that." He panted and coughed for a moment then. "The downside is I won't be able to use his chakra for at least a week and my own is going to feel reduced. So I... may not be able to get us home as easily as I got us here."

"That's okay. We still gotta stick around to ensure Gato has no lingering agents, there are no remaining hidden shinobi, and the bridge gets finished. We can wait until you're better." Anko told him. "Now tell us more about this Extreme Tsukuyomi."

"Well, like the normal sharingan's Tsukuyomi it's a strong genjutsu that... alters the victim's perception of time and makes them... see or feel something horrible over and over again. But mine... makes the victim forget the last sixty seconds beforehand so they never remember how... they got caught or who cast it if I time it right. And the central nervous system is disrupted when it ends making movement difficult, as if the induced injuries linger into reality. I made it so they keep... getting attacked by Zabuza-sama repeatedly since they already recognize him and any injury he gives them in a genjutsu is bound to have long lasting effects here."

Kushina place her arm across his shoulders. "So in essence, you've made it impossible for that kid that tried to murder you to use the very thing that makes him so special, and unable to be of any use to the council, and not only does he and the others have no idea why, but if they try to figure it out the best answer they'd get is a genjutsu involving a rogue nin and they'd all have a similar story if asked?"

Naruto nodded. "Anything wrong with that?"

"Actually, I think it's brilliant." His mother proudly told him.


	31. Bothered

Ch. 31 Bothered

The Oto team spent the next week helping out around Wave, getting them back on their feet in Gato's absence. They did their best to avoid the Konoha nin, who were doing the same but keeping an eye out for them. Things might have gone a lot easier if Naruto was well enough to use his shadow clones, but now he barely had enough energy for a rasengan. At least this gave him more time to catch up with Kushina, and gave the other girls an excuse to be more affectionate towards him.

Hinata was currently out helping unload merchandise for a store that was restocking it's wares. With Gato gone, and Zabuza and Anko able to find where he kept his fortune, Wave had money again and could return to normal. Of course some of the money went to Oto and Konoha for their payments, but the rest went to Wave. The Konoha team had objected to the Oto team's getting paid for interfering until Tsunami clarified that she was the one to hire them and they did do their job.

"There, that's the last one." Hinata told the shopkeeper as she brought in the final box of merchandise. Agains he enjoyed the nice aroma of the store, which was a bakery and had something sweet baking right then.

"Thank you. Now I can finally afford to have more than one meal a day again." The older man told her.

Hinata smiled. "I can't stay long. I need to help out the other stores too."

The shopkeeper nodded. "Okay, and take this as a token of gratitude."

She was about to decline, until she saw she was being offered a cinnamon roll. "Thanks. Don't mind if I do." She reached out for it, but stopped before she grabbed it. "Oh, sorry but I don't like the ones with raisins in them."

"Oh. Sorry, I'm momentarily out of the regular ones."

"It's okay, don't worry about it. Have a nice day." The kunoichi said as she left and walked down the street, looking for another place to lend a helping hand.

"Hey!" Some boy called out to her from behind, sounding like they were running up to her. On reflex she turned to see who it was, and frowned at seeing it was the dog using genin from Konoha.

"What do you want?" She asked, feeling she might as well get this over with then leave.

"I just wanted to talk. You might like me if you gave me a chance."

"I told you I'm taken and I don't like leaf nin."

"Why not? We are the strongest in the elemental nations after all."

Hinata scoffed. "I doubt it."

"How about I show you what I can do? That might change your mind." Kiba said confidently.

Hinata smiled at him, but a chuckle could be heard with it. "You won't impress me. My fiancee has nine times the power and talent you do."

"Fi-fiancee?" Kiba asked in disbelief.

"Yep, I'm betrothed to the man who will rule my village someday as it's kage. You couldn't possibly compare to him."

"Well I'm tough enough to be hokage right now." Kiba said, trying to salvage his macho image.

Hinata responded with a kick to his groin, making him collapse. "Hmmph, some hokage. You even fell for that yesterday." Before he could get up, she shushined away with a trail of grass instead of leaves.

* * *

Across town another of the Oto genin was being bothered by one of the Konoha students. Fuu was heading towards a warehouse to get more equipment for the men working on Tazuna's bridge. Now that the main threat to it was gone, men came back to work on it and the gear was in short supply. On her way there, she ran into the pink-haired kunoichi of Konoha.

Fuu acted as if her presence was unimportant, but out of professionalism rather than rudeness. She had been taught not to get distracted by inconsequential details when on the job, and she figured Sakura couldn't do much to her. However, she wasn't going to underestimate this girl since she had yet to see her actually use any skills yet.

"What the heck are you creeps doing here?" Sakura rudely asked as Fuu went about her business.

Fuu didn't bother to look at her, just gathered some construction tools. "My team was hiring to check out some potential danger. I myself am just helping the construction crew. What are you doing here?"

"My team was hired to do this job. You're just getting in the way."

Fuu shrugged. "We were both hired so we both have the right to be here and do our jobs. Sorry if that inconveniences you." She didn't sound too sincere with that last part.

Sakura crossed her arms in a defiant manner. "You also hurt my Sasuke-kun. That's downright unforgivable."

Now the green-haired jinchuuriki gave the pink-haired fangirl eye contact, and it wasn't friendly. "One, I wasn't the one who did that. Two, he deserved it for trying to kill my comrade. And three, I heard he used you to take a hit for him. So how can you defend him?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth. "Well, in no particular order, I'm glad I could help him and I'd do it again if he asked me to, your teammate shouldn't have refused his orders, and you're guilty by association."

"Dear Kami girl what the hell kind of thinking is that?" Fuu all but shouted.

"Shut up!" Sakura screamed, making Fuu cover her ears. "You don't know anything! You don't even come from a real ninja village!"

Fuu didn't look bothered, by anything other than the ringing in her ears that is. "Oh my, I don't have the respect of someone from Konoha. How will I survive?" There was so much sarcasm in her voice a deaf person could detect it.

Sakura balled up her fist and swung at her Oto kunoichi, who seemed to vanish into thin air before the fist connected. "What the hell?" She asked, looking around to find her target. "Where are you? Show yourself dammit!" She shouted as she pulled out a kunai.

From her hiding spot, Fuu watched and moved elsewhere. 'Does she really believe I'd listen to her? How much training does Konoha offer it's students? And why does she screech like that? Even our sound jutsu using nin don't make that much noise?' Once she was out of Sakura's reach Fuu continued towards the bridge. 'I wonder if she'll ever realize just how I got out of there?'

* * *

Sasame was currently walking around the town subtly, trying to find any unrecognized shinobi activity. After all, they weren't sure how many ninja were holding Kushina hostage and if Gato had any plans for after his demise. So far it looked like he didn't, but until the bridge was completed they couldn't be sure.

'So far so good.' She thought as she checked her surroundings again. All she saw were civilians in good moods enjoying their recovered economy. No one looked like they were trying to cause trouble for anyone.

Then she ran into someone who had trouble written all over him. Sasuke walked up to her with his usual smug yet annoyed look. "What do you want?" The orange-haired kunoichi asked, still angered by his attempt to gut Naruto.

"I'll ask the questions here." Sasuke replied coldly. "What makes your pathetic group think you have the right to do harm to me, an elite?"

'Damn, guess what Naruto-kun heard was right. This guy's so high on himself he actually expects his enemies to respect and admire him too.' Sasame dryly thought. "Ever hear the phrase 'Do unto others'? You deserved what you got."

"Do you know who I am?" Sasuke asked with narrowed eyes.

"I don't give a shit who you are."

"I am Sasuke Uchiha, and you will respect me."

Sasame responded by throwing a kunai that knicked his left ear. She could have made a better hit since she was the weapons expert of her team, but she wanted to make him fear her a bit. "I said I don't give a shit."

Sasuke fumed and tried to activate his sharingan so he could pummel her into submission. But he found his vision remained the same. 'What the...?' He tried again, only for his eyes to hurt this time and still gain no results.

Sasame smiled smugly. "What's the matter? Is something wrong?" She asked in a knowingly mocking way.

Sasuke glared at her and settled for attacking without his kekkei genkai. He was after all the Rookie of the Year before he had them so he should be able to fight well without his sharingan. He swung his right fist and aimed for her collarbone. She blocked with her left arm and countered with an ax kick, which he blocked with his left leg. She then backed up a step to put some space between them both and pulled out two shuriken. Sasuke meanwhile pulled out his collapsible demon wind shuriken and unfolded it.

Sasuke threw his weapon at her. Sasame, experienced with weaponry, could tell there was a second one in the shadow. She dropped her shurikens and did some hand signs. "Earth Style: Mudwall Jutsu." A wall of mud rose and took both hits for her, but they only slowed the throwing weapons down and offset their stability. She regrabbed her own weapons and got out of the way with the time her wall gave her.

Sasame threw her shuriken at the Uchiha, who dodged them by jumping backwards. He then prepared his own jutsu. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu." He was relieved to see he could do this flawlessly, half-afraid that his chakra was out of order or something. Sasame dodged by throwing herself onto the ground, just narrowly being missed by the flame. Once it dissipated she got back on her feet and pulled out two trench knives and held one in each hand. "You're better than I gave you credit for, but you're still no match for me."

"Prove it with actions, not words bitch."

"My thoughts exactly." Sasuke said, trying again to activate his sharingan again, and it still didn't work. He resorted to another jutsu. "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu." Several flames came out towards the Oto kunoichi.

Sasame jumped up onto a tree branch to get out of the way. Then she threw two kunai at him. Sasuke jumped backwards to dodge the first one which landed where he had been standing. The second one impacted the tree behind him, and he soon heard a crackling sound. He turned to see a lit paper bomb attached, and he had ended up getting close to it when he dodged the first one. He performed a substitution with a rock before it exploded.

Sasame looked around, not abandoning her position or dropping her guard. Sasuke appeared behind her and tried to sever her spine with a kunai. Sasame moved so all she got was a gash on the left side of her torso. She winced in pain and reacted with a headbutt that connected and made the Uchiha stumble backwards and lose his balance on the tree limb. Before the distance between them increased too much, she used her trench knives to cut his palms, then jumped to the next tree.

'Hmm... should I stay and fight, or leave before it gets rougher?' She briefly asked herself. 'Might as well just go. got other places to check out and I may need my chakra for bigger threats.' She then left, leaving the last Uchiha in Konoha to deal with his lack of victory.

"Damn her. If I ever see her again or that blonde idiot, I'll kill them." He said when he got back on his feet on the ground and saw she was gone.

* * *

A week went by and Naruto was back at full strength again. Not only that, but Tazuna's bridge was finished. The townsfolk had gathered for the completion ceremony. Tsunami and Inari were there amongst the crowd watching Tazuna with pride as he gave a speech to everyone present. At the end everyone cheered. When they stopped, Anko and Naruto approached the mother and child.

"Thank you so much for your help. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been here." Tsunami told them.

"Thanks. We just wanted to let you know we'll be heading home now. Everything seems to be handled here so our job's done." Anko replied.

"Good. Hey maybe we'll see you guys again someday." Inari said, in a much better mood than when he first met them.

Naruto ruffled his hat playfully. "Hopefully not too soon. You don't want trouble to start again do you?"

"Remember, don't tell anyone where we're located or our real names. It will only cause us trouble." Anko told the older woman, who nodded. "I guess that's everything. Take care and enjoy your new lives."

"Thank you. Stay safe."

Anko smirked. "We're shinobi. We can't stay safe."


	32. Subsonic

Ch. 32 Subsonic

Orochimaru was in his office going over the paperwork of the day, grimacing over it all. "Damn this paperwork. It's just so inconvenient. And there's not even enough to justify using a clone to do it instead. I'd just be wasting chakra for it. It's times like these I wish snakes had hands."

A knock at his door encouraged him to take a break. "Enter." He said once he placed his pen down.

The person who entered certainly surprised him. They wore Anbu style apparel complete with vest and weapon pouch, and a black cloth mask that covered all but their bright brown eyes. A hood covered their hair and their hands were covered with brownish-red fingerless gloves with metal plates on the back of the hand. Once inside the office and the door was confirmed closed, they removed their hood and mask, smiling at the snake sannin. "Hello Otokage-sama. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Ah Subsonic, good to see you again. What news do you have for me?"

"Not much. I did find out that Konoha might be growing suspicious of our existence by now."

"It may be too late for that, but please continue."

Subsonic suspected he meant more than he admitted, but they did as asked. "I had to deal with a rather... irritating person back in Konoha named Mizuki Touji. Somehow, he came to the conclusion I was a double agent for someone else, and wanted to blackmail me with that info. I played dumb, but he said all he had to do was slander me and the result would be good enough for him. Shrewd but he did have a good point."

Orochimaru nodded. "Any idea how he caught on?"

Subsonic shook their head. "Honestly, I'm not confident. I can guess. Maybe he saw me speak with Jiraiya-sama last time we did. However he did, he was surprisingly accurate in his claim. The only thing he didn't know was who exactly I was giving information to."

"This is bad." Orochimaru commented. "You and Jiraiya are the only ways we have to keep our eyes on that village. We can't risk you both being outted just yet."

"I know. That's why I did what I had to." Subsonic added. Orochimaru motioned for them to continue. "He told me that the price of his silence was Konoha's forbidden scroll. I asked him what he wanted it for, and he said, and I quote, 'None of your damn business'. My guess is that he wanted to set me up so he could look like a hero and me a traitor as well as a spy for another village. Or maybe he wanted to make like that guy who stole the Nidaime's sword and left for Ame."

"Makes sense. What did you do?"

"I played along, but when it came time to deliver, I gave him a fake scroll. When he opened it to confirm its authenticity, the trap was sprung. I gotta say, when it comes to designing traps Naruto is better than most jounin. Is he in town currently?"

"No, he's away on his first out-of-village mission, which had very surprising info come in from earlier I think you should hear. But we'll save that for later. Tell me more about what you know." Orochimaru told his hidden agent.

"Okay. At that time I used Naruto's idea for a layered seal trap. The first layer hit him with a saved lightning jutsu, then when he was unable to competently move the second layer hit him with a stored fire jutsu. I used the time he was dazed to use the headhunter jutsu to trap him, and then the third layer worked, covering his exposed self with chocolate sauce."

Orochimaru arched an eyebrow. "Chocolate sauce? Seriously? I'd expect something a little more professional from you Subsonic."

"This took place in a forest, where there are no short supply of bugs." Subsonic added with a devious grin.

That made the snake sannin grin too. "Brilliant. What happened next?"

"I comtemplated giving him an ultimatum, but I figured there was no real way to convince the douchebag to remain silent." The spy answered. "So I had to kill him. Problem was how to do it without leaving any way to tie back to me or make it too big a deal so the Anbu wouldn't make a big investigation out of it. Naturally I needed to think it over. Lucky for me no one was actually looking for us since there was no breech of security, like there would have been had I actually taken the scroll."

"What about the nightly patrols? Wouldn't they have noticed something, like your prisoner's screams?"

"I used a silencing barrier for that. Anyway, after a moment's thought, I decided the best thing I could do was just kill him and eliminate the evidence. I cut off his head, got his body out of the ground, and made the area look a little scorched so anyone who came by would think his body was incinerated on the spot. Then I got out of there and actually destroyed the body. Once I was done, I figured I might as well stop by and let you know."

"That's good. What do you think are the chances that this... Mizuki was it?" Orochimaru asked, and got a nod as his answer. "What do you think are the chances he told someone else before you eliminated him?"

"I'm not sure. I figure if he did there would have been someone watching him when he met me to confirm his theory. Since no one helped him I can only conclude he acted on his own. However, I am aware of the possibility he did say something so once I get back to Konoha I will see what I can."

"Good. While you're here Subsonic, I have some news I think you'll find interesting. It appears that Kushina Uzumaki is alive."

Subsonic's body stiffened and their eyes widened. "What? Kushina-san is alive? How can that be?"

"From the short report I got from my goddaughter, someone found her comatose body and moved it to a hidden base by Wave in an attempt to revive her. Evidence indicates the one behind this did not have beneficial motives in doing so. Naruto's presence managed to make her regain consciousness, and she will be on her way here soon with him."

"Good. Maybe then I can give her something I've been holding onto. I was going to give it to Naruto once he was old enough, but this is probably for the best."

Orochimaru nodded. "By the way, the report revealed that a team of Konoha ninja were there in Wave at the same time. It was Kakashi Hatake with his genin students."

Subsonic frowned. "Kakashi was in the same place as Naruto?"

"Sadly yes. I don't know what has happened between the two of them yet, if anything."

Subsonic groaned and crossed their arms. "If that team was there, it couldn't be good."

"Care to explain?"

Subsonic chose to sit down by the desk before answering. "To put it mildly, Otokage-sama, Kakashi's team is probably the worst one Naruto could encounter when it comes to Konoha. My nickname for it is Team Arrogant. There's also the ones I call Team Odd and Team Lazy, and either of them would be better."

"Anyway, back to my point, Kakashi's team is made of the type of people Naruto couldn't be around for long. You already know about Kakashi's attitude towards Naruto back before you left Konoha. I doubt he'd recognize him now, but if he did all hell would break lose. For that matter, I'm still not certain how the hell he couldn't figure out who fathered Naruto. You'd think he of all people would connect the dots."

"Subsonic, you're starting to ramble." Orochimaru pointed out.

The spy for Oto took a deep soothing breath. "My apologies Otokage-sama. You know how I feel in regards to that man. In regards to his students, I do have some info on them you might find appropriate." They saw they had the sannin's interest, so they continued. "Kakashi's students consist of a civilian fangirl, an heir to the Inuzuka clan, and the last Uchiha in Konoha."

"Uchiha?" Orochimaru asked.

Subsonic nodded. "Yeah. You remember my report on their massacre years ago?" The sannin nodded. "Well now the last one has come of age and is starting his ninja career. Personally I hope the smug little bastard gets a reality check, but it's likely he won't from anyone within Konoha."

"Is he still getting the special treatment?" Orochimaru asked. Subsonic had already informed him about the Uchiha's reception from and attitude towards the people of Konoha.

The double agent nodded. "Sadly yes. And with an ego bigger than Kami-sama he still believes he deserves it all just for being born. I once tried to set him straight by telling him he didn't deserve a damn thing just for having a fancy clan name. Would you believe he said he'd get the council to revoke my rank and citizenship for opposing him?"

"Seriously?" Orochimaru asked, finding it hard to believe a genin could think that highly of himself.

Subsonic nodded again. "Completely. Apparently he believes every whim of his has more priority than law and if someone by chance disagrees he can go tattle to the council and they'll magically make his wish come true."

Orochimaru sighed in frustration. "Ungrateful spoiled brat." He mumbled. "Does that mean he at least respects the council and hokage if nobody else?"

"I doubt it." Subsonic sadly answered. "I get the impression that he respects no one. He's just so used to the council, and to a lesser degree the hokage, acting in his favor and pouring honey in his ear. Hell I wouldn't be surprised if they rigged his tests in the academy to inflate his ego. And worst of all I don't think he even suspects they may have an ulterior motive for their favoritism."

"I see. Now, back on topic, why is this team so bad for Naruto to encounter?" Orochimaru.

"Well, actually a more appropriate term would be 'annoying' than 'bad'. With Naruto's training and back-up, he's in no real danger from them under most circumstances. But they would sure annoy the hell out of him. Let's just say that if they don't drive Naruto to do something that may risk a war with Konoha, they themselves with do that to him just for the hell of it."

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. "Under most circumstances?"

Subsonic nodded. "Remember Otokage-sama, Kakashi has that chidori jutsu. Since he favors the Uchiha, whom I've already told you has a superiority complex and a greed for power, what's to stop him from teaching it to him? Or using it himself if he happens to find out who Naruto is?"

"I see your point."

"If Kakashi recognizes Naruto as Konoha's 'dead' jinchuuriki, he will try to kill him. If the Uchiha sees Naruto's strengths, he will try to take it or kill him to reassert his own status. If the kunoichi fangirl feels Naruto isn't treating the Uchiha with respect, she will try to kill him. If the Inuzuka heir sees Naruto with several girlfriends, he will just try to one-up him. So for now, unless Kakashi has a motive, they will be... mostly a headache for Naruto."

"Well, if it's any consolation, keep in mind what Naruto can do to them if they push him."

Subsonic smiled evilly. "Absolutely, that's what I'm looking forward to hearing. And seeing Kushina-san again. Do you know when they'll get back?"

"Sadly no. I suspect soon, but not soon enough to risk you being discovered away unauthorized from Konoha."

"Damn. Can you contact me when they do show up?"

Orochimaru thought it over. "Normally I wouldn't risk my snake summons being seen in Konoha, so if I can't have Jiraiya tell you, then I'll send you the message as discreetly as possible."

"Good. That will at least give me the time to get you-know-what for Kushina-san." Subsonic added, and Orochimaru nodded. The spy checked the clock and rose from their seat. "I probably should get heading back. Tell the boy and his mother I said hi."

"Will do."

"Bye Otokage-sama." Subsonic said with a bow before putting their mask and hood back on then heading outside. With more speed than one would expect from them, they disappeared from the hidden village in an instant.

Orochimaru sighed, picked up his pen, and went back to his paperwork. 'I sure hope nothing bad happened to Naruto or the others on their mission. I wouldn't want fuel to be added to my anti-Konoha fire now.'


	33. Return

_To my readers, I want to let you all know that Subsonic's real identity won't be revealed until the invasion arc. Your one hint is that it's a canon character but not a commonly used one. Feel free to guess, but no one will know for sure for some time._

Ch. 33 Return

"Okaa-san, welcome to Otogakure." Naruto told Kushina as they and the others dropped from the sky and landed gently on the ground. Isaribi was clinging to his back just like she had done on the trip to Wave. She let go once they were on the ground.

"Why is it called that again?" Kushina asked.

"See that cannon on top of the gate?" Kurenai pointed out. Sure enough, on top of the protective wall and above the arc of the doorway there was a cannon pointing outwards with a pagoda-like structure around it. "Those are the defensive weapons of the village. By channeling chakra into them, they fire off a sonic boom instead of a cannonball, which is quite effective against almost all types of defenses any invaders may have themselves. And because sound travels so quickly, no one can prepare a counter jutsu quick enough."

Kushina thought it over. 'I bet Minato-koi could have been fast enough.' Thinking about her late husband made her want to cry. 'I don't know how I can live without him... but I must, for my son's sake.' "I guess that should work. Has it been used before?"

"Not as it's meant to, which is a good thing." Anko answered.

"Nice to be home." Sasame thought out loud, making the other genin nod.

Before they could get inside the town limits, someone dropped from the pagoda to greet them. It was quickly revealed to be Tayuya. "Hi guys. Welcome back."

"Hi Tayuya-chan." Naruto greeted back.

The redhead saw that even though Isaribi wasn't clinging onto the blonde anymore, she was still really close to him. She couldn't help but smirk. 'So he's already found another girl for his little harem? Well it's not like it should be too hard for him. I hope... I mean, _wonder_, if he still has some room for me.' Then she noticed the other redhead. "And who are you? I didn't see you leave with them."

"I'm Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze, Naruto's mother."

Tayuya sure didn't expect that answer. "But... aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"Yes, I should be. But by the grace of Kami-sama I'm not."

Tayuya looked back at Naruto to confirm this wasn't some sort of trick. She really liked him and knew that if this was some sort of trick it would hurt him. From the calm look on his face and the way he stood, she judged that this woman really was a relative of his, and that was good enough for her. So she turned back to Kushina. "Welcome to Otogakure. My name's Tayuya, a good friend of your son and one of the five guards. Where've ya been?"

'Wow, she's watching her language. She must want to make a good impression here.' Anko thought.

"Held prisoner in another country while in a coma." Kushina answered.

Tayuya blinked. "Fuck that's a drag." She then turned to Anko and Kurenai. "I better not keep you too busy. You do gotta go tell Otokage-sama the details."

Kurenai nodded. "We'll be on our way then." She then faced Haku, Fuu, and Sasame. "You three can have the rest of the day off. Do as you please."

"Let's go see your mother, let her know we're fine." Zabuza told Haku, who nodded, knowing her mother was a bit of a worrier.

"I better go say hi to my family too." Sasame added.

Fuu simply sighed sadly. "Might as well go see how dusty my place is." Rather than live in the Otokage tower the green-haired jinchuuriki had her own apartment. She often had visitors, mostly Naruto and her teammates, but it did feel lonely to go there knowing no one would be there waiting for her.

Anko faced her own students. "Kurenai-chan and I are going to go tell Otokage-sama what happened. So you three and take the day off too. Just remember that you're going to be training tomorrow again."

"Good. I want to go swimming. Want to come Naruto-kun?" Isaribi asked, stretching her arms above her head in an effort to stick her chest out and make him more interested.

"Maybe in a bit Isaribi-chan. First I kind of want to help Okaa-san get settled in." He told her. He didn't notice Hinata wink at Isaribi, then the other three girls, but Tayuya and Kushina did.

"Okay then. I'll be in the pool at five. Be sure to come by." The purple-haired girl told him.

"I'd love to help you out Naru-kun, but I should go let Okaa-san and imouto-chan know I'm back." Hinata told the blonde with a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Don't take too long Hina-chan."

* * *

While the girls were busy and the jounin were informing Orochimaru what all happened in Wave, Naruto and Kushina ran into Tsunade and Shizune. "Naruto-chan, I'm glad to see you're okay." The slug sannin said the young man. "And Kushina? You really are alive. How did you survive?"

"Long story short, I fell into a coma from severe chakra loss. Naruto's chakra with the kyuubi's brought me out of it."

"So why were you in Wave?" Shizune asked.

Kushina shrugged. "Best I can figure is that someone was waiting for me to wake up but wanted everyone else to think I was dead so they hid me outside Konoha."

Tsunade frowned. "I don't think I'd be surprised if it was sensei who did that."

"Why?"

"Let's just say that man has done some horrible things for reasons I still don't understand. Those things are in fact the whole reason this village was created."

Kushina was silent for a moment, then looked down at her son. "Naruto, could you give me a moment with Tsunade-sama please?"

He nodded. "Okay. I'll just go get some ramen then come back. Bye Okaa-san."

He then walked down the hall and turned around the corner, disappearing from sight. Kushina looked Tsunade right in the eyes. "Tell me everything, and I mean everything."

* * *

Naruto arrived at his favorite ramen stand in Oto, known as Ichiraku's. Apparently the owners, Teuchi and Ayame Ichiraku, were the nicest people to him in Konoha outside Orochimaru and Anko. Apparently Teuchi and Jiraiya had been friends when younger, but Teuchi never felt the life of a shinobi was right for him. Also he was less perverted, _much _less perverted. Thru Jiraiya he became acquaintances of Tsunade and Orochimaru, and during Orochimaru's time with Naruto they became closer friends.

When Naruto had been declared dead and Orochimaru gone, the ramen stand family were devastated by the news, and pissed that while they mourned others celebrated without shame. Later, after Hitomi and Hanabi had been relocated, Jiraiya payed them a visit. Seeing their sorrow, he clued them in to a new place to do business, and, understanding there was more to the suggestion not being said, Teuchi agreed.

So Teuchi and Ayame decided to move out of Konoha. As civilians with no history of ninja knowledge, there was no law that said they couldn't. However, they still had to be confirmed by a Yamanaka that they weren't taking vital information with them if they left. If they were, then the hokage could legally prevent them from relocating. Fortunately, Inoichi saw nothing of value or threat to Konoha so they were free to live elsewhere. When they closed their shop and left, Jiraiya said he'd escort them to a village where he needed a new spy to keep an eye on things for him. Sarutobi accepted it.

Since then, the Ichiraku's had lived in Oto, helping out Naruto like they always had before. And here, they had a bigger restaurant, one complete with tables instead of just a bar to sit at.

"Hey old man, I'm back." Naruto said as he approached the front bar, his favorite place to eat at. Before he did, he noticed a half-eaten bowl on one of the tables, but no one was there. And since there was only one bowl, the eater was probably here alone.

Ayame came out instead of her father. "Naruto! Good to see you again." She leaned across the bar to hug him.

"Good to see you too Ayame-chan."

She pulled away and smiled warmly. "Want the usual?" He nodded. "Okay, I'll get started. Want something to drink first?"

"Sure. I'll have a soda."

She gave him a soft drink and went back into the kitchen to prepare his food. A door opened and Naruto couldn't help but look to see who showed up. It turned out to be the door to the women's restroom, and the one leaving it was Kin.

"Hi Kin-chan." Naruto waved to her.

The brown-haired girl blinked in surprise to see him here and without Hinata. "Naruto-kun?" She smiled and hugged him too. "Glad you're back. I missed you."

"I missed you too Kin-chan." He replied.

"Can I eat with you? There's no point in us eating alone is there?" She asked, trying to be as cute as possible.

"Sure. Then I can tell you all about what I did on my mission." He happily answered.

By the time Ayame came out, Kin was seated to Naruto's right slowly finishing off her bowl of shrimp ramen as Naruto described what happened after the battle on the bridge. It took her some time to prepare Naruto's usual of 'one of everything'.

By the time they were done, with their food and their talk, Kin felt happy and wanting to castrate a few Konoha shinobi with some tools not designed for the job. But for now, she was just glad to have what for all basic purposes was a date with the boy she so strongly admired.

When they exited the restaurant, Kin gently took ahold of his hands. "Hey, Naruto-kun, I've been wondering something."

"Yes, Kin-chan?"

"I... I heard that you were ordered to have... relationships with nine women. Is... is this true?"

Naruto gulped, and checked to see if anyone was listening. "Yes, it is. For the sake of Oto, I have to have children with nine women."

Kin softly smiled and kissed his right cheek before he could object. "I just want you to know, that I like you a lot, and I'm willing to share. Would you... be willing to give me a chance?"

Naruto blushed. "Actually Kin-chan, I would like that. Just let me tell Hina-chan first. I did promise her we'd both work on this."

Kin's face warmed and she hugged him again. "Thank you Naruto-kun."

Meanwhile, Ayame overheard this from inside the restaurant. 'So the rumor is true. Hmm...'

* * *

Five o'clock came and Naruto headed to the pool wearing his orange swim trunks with a black shirt. When he got there, he was so surprised he slipped on the tiles and crashed on his face.

Seated around the pool on the edge with their feet in the water, as if waiting for him to show up, were Hinata, Isaribi, Sasame, Fuu, Haku, and even Kin and Tayuya were present. And all of them were wearing bikinis in various colors showing off their various bust sizes. And at the moment it was harder to tell who was better endowed, Hinata or Tayuya. The redhead was sure she won that contest if for no other reason than she was older.

"Naruto-kun!" All the girls said in alarm at seeing him fall.

He got back up on all fours then sat down before they could get up and check on him. That didn't stop Hinata from confirming his well-being for herself though. "I'm okay. I just didn't expect to see this."

"Are we not pleasing to you Naruto-kun?" Tayuya asked.

"You're all beautiful. What guy wouldn't react like I did if he saw seven girls in bikini's waiting for him?" Naruto asked back.

"Someone with seven girlfriends." Isaribi answered.

"Or maybe nine?" Sasame added.

Naruto didn't know what to say. He turned to look at Hinata for some support, but because he was sitting and she was kneeling his face inadvertently got planted right between her breasts. Hinata gasped and blushed but made no actual effort to remove him. As for him, the shock, and softness, made his mind freeze so he couldn't pull out.

Kin groaned. "Damn girl. When are we going to get our turn with him? I thought you couldn't keep him to yourself anymore."

Naruto finally got free and sheepishly looked at the other girls. He was expecting to see them mad at him, not them looking amused instead. "Hey Naruto-kun, wanna feel mine too? I bet mine are better than hers." Tayuya said while holding up her breasts and pressing them together.

Fuu grinned playfully. "And what about mine? They're a decent size too."

"It's not the size that counts." Sasame commented. "Mine might be smaller than yours, but I'm sure they're softer."

"Maybe, but I dare you to tell me you wouldn't appreciate a bigger pair too."

Sasame turned away. "No comment."

"Ha! I knew it." Fuu exclaimed triumphantly.

Seeing Naruto blushed, Hinata whispered into his ear. "Naru-kun, remember how you need to find eight more girls? Well, here are the top candidates that want to be with you and I don't mind either of them as choices. Why don't you ask them?"

Naruto cleared his throat. "He girls, if you're done talking about your chests I've got something you might want to hear." All the girls gave him their attention. "I'm sure you've already heard about this from someone else. Well, the thing is, I do need to have a... harem of sorts to keep my kekkei genkai's around for the future. Any girl who joins I promise will be treated no less important than Hina-chan will be. But this means all the girls have to be willing to have children with me when we're old enough for it." He saw them all nod in understanding. "So I guess what I'm getting at is... how would you all like to see if things can work out for us?"

The end result was Naruto getting engulfed in a group hug with lots of 'cushioning'.

_Okay everyone, I'm going to introduce two polls for this story here. Leave your answers in a review, not a PM. But also review the chapter and/or story too while you're at it._

_1. Eight members of the harem are confirmed, but who should be the final member?_

_-Hanabi (when she's old enough)_

_-Ayame (I can make that work)_

_-Ino (she'd have to relocate but it's not impossible)_

_-Karin (she'll have to meet Naruto before Sasuke first)_

_-Kurotsuchi (Temari gives Oto a link to Suna, so why not one to Iwa)_

_-Other (give name and reason)_

_2. Should lemons eventually be included? This story won't be hurt by their presence or absence._


	34. Discovery

_Wow, over 100 reviews last chapter. I think it's safe to close the polls now. The final girl has been decided, and the issue about including lemons was virtually unanimous, thanks to your encouragement. Lemons will be included, and the ninth girl will be Hanabi._

_In case anyone was confused, last chapter did only feature seven girls. The eighth confirmed girl is Temari, who at the moment is still in Suna. And on another note, I know most fics say that Minato's and Kushina's marriage was a secret. Given the circumstances in this story and the manga flashbacks, I'm making it so that for this story their relationship was known to the village. After all, why wouldn't Kushina tell everyone who her baby's father was?_

Ch. 34 Discovery

While things were looking up for Oto's golden boy, back in Konoha things weren't going so well for the most popular boy there. Before Team Seven left Wave, taking the new Sound of Freedom Bridge to get back, Sasuke kept struggling to get his sharingan working again. But all he accomplished was giving himself a headache. Kakashi took a look but since his medic skills were only the basic first aid ones taught to all ninja, there was nothing he could do.

So during the entire trip home to Konoha all Sasuke did was fume in angry silence or comment on how he knew those other shinobi were responsible and he'd kill each and every one of them for this. He was so mad at them he honestly didn't know if he wanted to kill them or Itachi more. Sakura tried to cheer him up by telling him he was still strong and terrific in all aspects. Kiba scoffed and ended up with a fist-enduced concussion before he could even vocalize whatever remark he had about it.

Needless to say, Sasuke completely ignored Sakura's encouragement and after a while she decided to let him be for now. But she kept her eye on Kiba in case he dare not flatter the emo again. The one thing all three genin noticed was that their sensei also seemed to have something serious on his mind the whole asked him if something was wrong, and he told her it wasn't something she should concern herself with.

When they reached the inside of Konoha's walls, Kakashi surprised his students by taking them to their usual meeting spot on the bridge rather than the hokage's office. "Okay everyone, I'm going to go give the hokage our report and inform him of Sasuke's condition. Sasuke, you go to the hospital and see if someone there can do more then I could. Sakura, Kiba, you two can do as you please but under no circumstances whatsoever can you tell anyone about Sasuke's condition."

"Why not?" The two asked. Kiba did because he figured this might help boast his own reputation if Sasuke was weakened but he himself wasn't. Sakura did because her fangirl mentality made her assume any news about Sasuke was the sort of thing everybody wanted to hear.

"Because this is a ninja village and ninja don't go around announcing their secrets, strengths, and weaknesses." Kakashi told them forcibly. "I don't care what reasons you may have to do otherwise, do not tell, write, draw, use sign language, insinuate, or express in any other possible manner this information or so help me I will have you kicked out of the ninja forces for the rest of your lives and given to the T&I division. Is that clear?" Sakura and Kiba nodded. "Good, now I'll be going." He then shushined out of sight.

Sasuke headed towards the hospital without another word towards his teammates. Sakura contemplated following him but decided to go home instead. Kiba went home too but decided to take the scenic route.

* * *

An hour later the council of Konoha was gathered together in their meeting room, called together by Sarutobi. No one knew anything other than he said it was urgent. Kakashi was the only non-member present, or at least he thought he was. Until he saw Jiraiya in the room too.

'Oh I am so looking forward to this.' The toad sannin thought to himself, trying his hardest to mask his eager anticipation. 'Once Orochimaru sent me that snake that told me what Naruto did to Konoha's pet genin in Wave, I knew I had to be here to hear what would done about it. After all, Subsonic can't hear things like council meetings. At least, not directly.'

"Jiraiya, what brings you here?" Homura asked once he entered the room.

"Sensei asked me to be here." He answered plainly.

"Everyone please be seated now." Sarutobi told everyone, and paused until everyone attending except Kakashi and Jiraiya did just that. Those two stood simply because they had nowhere to sit. "Now, I have some information that is going to make most of you very upset and you'll probably have some loud reactions to it. Keep in mind that I cannot answer any questions you may throw out until you all actually give me the opportunity to continue what I'm telling you. In short, I want no interruptions for this."

"Are we at risk for war Hokage-sama?" A pink-haired councilwoman asked, inadvertently ignoring the hokage's desire for no interruptions.

'You have no idea.' Jiraiya kept to himself.

"No Haruno-san, not yet at least. And need I remind you to not speak until I open the floor?" Sarutobi answered. "Kakashi here has informed me that something rather disastrous happened to him and his student Sasuke Uchiha on their recent mission."

Councilwoman Natsumi Haruno suddenly burst out of her chair onto her feet. "Please tell me he's still able to perform his duties!"

Jiraiya snapped his fingers. "What part of 'no interrupting' did you not understand?"

"Be seated Haruno-san." Sarutobi told her. "Kakashi, why don't you tell everyone what you told me?"

Kakashi appeared to steel himself for this revelation. "On our mission to Wave to assist a bridge builder, we came across a group of ninja from an unknown village or group. They wore hitai-ates but the symbol on them looked like a music note." He momentarily paused to see if anyone would voice any knowledge on that symbol. "The group consisted of mostly just kunoichis with only two males present. One was an blonde boy with an orange jumpsuit, whom I will say more about later, and the other was the missing nin Zabuza Momochi."

"_The_ Zabuza Momochi?" Shikaku Nara asked.

'No, the other Zabuza Momochi. Y'know, the one that bakes cookies for a living.' Jiraiya sarcastically thought.

"None other." Kakashi replied to the shadow user. "He actually did very little fighting. I did face off against him before we reached our destination, but one of his allies helped him escape. I saw him again later but it appears he and his group were hired by another citizen of Wave to help them too. It was the blonde boy who proved the most troubling however."

"How so?" Tsume Inuzuka asked.

"The first thing I feel I ought to mention is that he may have some sort of kekkei genkai that allows him to manipulate metal. I saw him use metal the same way the Shodai Hokage was said to use wood." He paused to let that sink in for everyone. "And the second thing is that, and I know how hard this is to believe, but apparently... Kushina Uzumaki is alive and she claims the boy is her son."

Everyone gasped at hearing that, even Jiraiya but he did it for different reasons. Part of it was for show, and the other part was that he didn't know Kushina had revealed herself and her connection to Naruto to anyone. This meant that now Sarutobi might figure out Naruto was still alive.

"Kushina Uzumaki? That skank?" Natsumi asked in disgust. "I thought she died with Yondaime-sama and their child the day the Kyuubi attacked."

Jiraiya glared at her. "Need I remind you that 'that skank' as you put it was one of this village's most renown kunoichi and someone my student greatly respected and loved?"

"So? Doesn't mean _I_ respect her." Natsumi responded. "She probably trapped him into a relationship due to her pregnancy."

"Kakashi, can you describe the child Kushina claimed as her own?" Sarutobi asked with a curious glint in his eyes that Jiraiya understood all too well.

"Not much to say. He wore an orange and black outfit that would be a horrible choice for any person, ninja or not, to wear. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, average height, but didn't really look like Kushina-san at all. My guess is that she cheated on Sensei with someone else and had him. Maybe all this time she's been raising him somewhere else."

'Hmm... that sounds a lot like Naruto, but surely he's been dead for ten years. Then again, I thought Kushina was dead too. Does this mean the Kyuubi jinchuuriki is still alive but affiliated with another village? This absolutely cannot be allowed.' The old hokage thought to himself.

"Kakashi, I believe you said some disastrous happened to you and your student." Jiraiya commented, before Sarutobi's train of thought could go much further.

"Oh yeah, about that, I don't know how they did this, for the life of me I can't figure it out, but... someone in this unknown group severely weakened me and Sasuke by..." Kakashi then lifted up his hitai-ate, revealing his sharingan eye was now a normal black pupil. "...removing the abilities of our sharingans."

For a brief moment no one said a word. They all knew that Kakashi had gotten his sharingan due to chance and circumstance, and since he was not an Uchiha his chakra system was not designed to incorporate a doujutsu. This was why he always felt extreme chakra exhaustion after using it and why he couldn't turn it off. Only now did they realize the flipside of the situation; that, for that exact same reason given, in the event his sharingan ever _was_ turned off, he wouldn't be able to turn it back on.

"You mean to tell us...?" Natsumi started to ask, only to finally remember the hokage's orders before she finished.

Kakashi nodded. "Yes. On our mission Sasuke managed to awaken his sharingan. Then somehow someone took it away from him. During the trip back home, Sasuke tried several times to reactivate it only to get migraines from the effort. My diagnosis of him showed nothing physically wrong with him and I saw no inhibitor seals. But in any case, I ordered him to go to the hospital for further examinations."

"Now I will open the floor for discussion on this." Sarutobi said, then faced the pink-haired member. "Haruno-san, for your continued interruptions, I am ordering you to let someone else speak first."

"Jiraiya-sama, have you encountered anyone fitting these descriptions in your travels?" Koharu asked.

Jiraiya pretended to think it over. "Hmm... can't say I have. But if these guys can actually render kekkei genkai obsolete, then I suspect Konoha is at a great disadvantage to them."

"I agree." Shibi Aburame spoke up. "I hate to think what would happen if someone from my clan fell victim to such a thing."

"In that case Jiraiya-sama should go seek this group out and kill them all." A civilian member stated.

"Are you serious?" The sannin asked.

"Are you saying you can't?"

Jiraiya leaned against the wall. "If the target was small in numbers then I would have little problem, especially considering I'm not dependent on any kekkei genkai. However, if this group Kakashi mentioned is part of a village, even one as small as Hoshi, then it's not as easy as you make it out to be."

"And why not?" Natsumi asked.

"Because I'm well known across the elemental nations. Why do you think I use a spy network rather than just doing the spying myself? I can't just go up to any village. Sure, I could sneak around for a bit, and even if I could find the person or people who can do such a thing, I couldn't eliminate them all without being noticed. I'm not Itachi Uchiha after all."

Sarutobi nodded. "But you could at least possibly find the base or village of this threat?"

"In theory yes, in time I could. But if I do, the first thing I'm going to do is try to get an audience with Kushina. If she is indeed still alive I'd like to hear how she survived and where she's been all this time and why."

"Don't forget to check out this child she claims as her own." Sarutobi added.

'You would insist on that you monster.' Jiraiya thought. "If I can I will."

"In the meantime, what shall we do about the Uchiha?" Danzo asked.

"Isn't it obvious? If we for some reason cannot get his sharingan working again then we must collect sperm so we can still keep the bloodline alive." Natsumi.

"And what do we do about the boy in that case?" Inoichi Yamanaka asked.

"If he has no sharingan then he's no good to us anymore." Koharu responded.

All the shinobi members frowned. "Need I remind you Utatane-san that the vast majority of people who work for this village also lack that doujutsu? Your words could be interpreted to mean you believe only Uchiha's have worth here therefore our own clans are unimportant." Hizashi Hyuuga, the acting head for his clan, told her.

"What I meant was that we've put in a lot of effort to keep the last of the Uchiha satisfied within our village and I hate the idea that all our effort was for nought and we have to wait longer to get the results we desired." Koharu replied.

"With any luck the problem can be solved and if not Jiraiya can seek out Tsunade to assist." Sarutobi told everyone.

Jiraiya laughed. "You don't really believe that do you Sensei? You remember her last message to you, don't you?"

"Tell her we demand her services." Danzo sternly stated, stomping the bottom of his cane on the floor in an effort to emphasize his seriousness and/or status.

"Or what? Seriously, what can you do to motivate her when she refuses? You don't honestly expect she'll bow to you just because you throw your weight around. She has the strength to back up her refusal. I'm sorry, but asking Tsunade-chan to do that is a lost cause and I will not put in the effort for it." Jiraiya firmly told everyone.

"You dare defy us?" Homura angrily asked.

"Yes, I dare. What are you going to do about it? Fire me? You can't, only the hokage can fire the shinobi. Send me to Ibiki? How am I going to find out who these music note ninja are and where they are if you won't let me leave?"

"We can forbid the stores to sell your smut books." Koharu claimed.

Jiraiya shrugged. "So? I can think of at least three people in this room that would oppose such a motion. And even if you did, I can always sell the books directly and make more of a profit that way with no middleman."

"Enough. Now, Jiraiya will not be reprimanded for his attitude, he will be allowed to continue his spy network with this new target in mind, we will do what we can to solve this mess with the Uchiha, and there will be no attempt to remove Jiraiya's books from the marketplace. Meeting dismissed." Sarutobi told everyone.

"Good. Now, if you don't mind, I need some research for my next book." Jiraiya said before shushining away.


	35. Sasuke

_In case anyone's confused about Kakashi's situation here, I'll explain. When Naruto used his Unbloodline to cancel out Sasuke's sharingan at Wave, Kakashi was in the affected area so he was an unintentional victim of it. Normally he would be able to reuse any kekkei genkai of his now that he's out of Naruto's reach. However, the sharingan is not naturally his and it's clear in canon he cannot turn his eye off. Therefore it's only logical that he cannot turn it back on himself either. The Oto nin know this and for now that's a good enough revenge for Kushina._

Ch. 35 Sasuke

Sasuke had to spend a full day in the company of every medic nin Konoha had to offer. Only now did the council members wish they had taken Tsunade's request for specific medic nin training seriously. But without that and her, they had to settle for people who were half as good as her at best. He was most livid when they tried to collect sperm, saying it was part of the physical, and he adamantly resisted it. So he had to be sedated for them to get anything from him.

The next day he was summoned to the council room to attend a meeting with both councils and the hokage. Even Kakashi was there too. 'Maybe they'll be able to get me my sharingan back. Then I can go kill Itachi and whoever took it from me in the first place.'

"Please be seated Sasuke Uchiha." Sarutobi told the genin once he and the others arrived.

Sasuke did, and he soon got a bad feeling. This was the first time he was in the council's presence and no one smiled at him. Generally he didn't get that from the shinobi side, but there had always been several on the civilian side that looked pleased he was present. But now, there was no one who looked like they felt wiping his ass was a privilege.

"Sasuke Uchiha, our best medics have examined you from top to bottom, and spent all of last night attempting to understand and correct the problem placed upon you. However, sadly no results have been acquired."

"That can't be. Surely someone here can do something." Sasuke said.

"There is only one person we know who could possibly do anything." Sarutobi started, but Sasuke cut him off quickly.

"Then go get him and bring him here at once! I need my power back!"

Sarutobi held up his hand to silence the genin. "We can't. For one, _she_ is currently unlocated so getting help couldn't possibly be instantaneous. And for another, she is actually from the rival clan of your own, so motivating her to aide you will not be easy."

"I am an Uchiha. I demand she do something about this. She should be honored to be of use to me."

Sarutobi shook his head. "Did you not hear me? I said her clan is your clan's _rivals_, the Senju. Meaning she has absolutely no reason to want you to be well."

"Then order her to do it anyway. Why should I care if her idiot clan has some problem with mine? I demand I get my power back so I can kill my brother and those other guys too."

"Sasuke, you shouldn't insult those that can help you." Kakashi told his student.

The Uchiha just frowned. "I am an elite, thus I can insult anyone beneath me."

"So you, a mere genin who's only been on one real mission, think you're above a sannin who has years of experience and is qualified to become a hokage?" Hizashi asked.

"Elite means second to no one so yes." Sasuke answered.

Sarutobi gave his two old teammates and Danzo disapproving looks, because he knew they were the primary ones who filled this boy's head with such egotistical nonsense. 'I hope you three now realize you've inflated hs ego a bit too much.'

"You are not the only one who has talent and strength in this village young man." Inoichi told him. "And without your previous sharingan, you won't even have status anymore."

"What the hell does that mean?" Sasuke asked.

Sarutobi cleared his throat for this. "It means that by Uchiha clan law, your own family's law, any Uchiha who is incapable of wielding their sharingan for whatever reason there is, be it genetic or forced onto their person, cannot be considered a member of said clan and is denied all that full-fledged members are entitled too. This includes status, wealth, property, and clan jutsu."

Sasuke paled for a moment then frowned again and rose from his chair, fists clenched. "You can't do this! I am the only Uchiha in Konoha! Everything my clan owned now rightfully belongs to me and me alone!"

"We're not the ones doing this, your clan's laws are. The law that was created by your grandfather and enforced by your own father." Sarutobi told him.

"If you insist on using your heritage as leverage then be prepared for the fallout that comes with it." Tsume told the genin.

Homura spoke next. "We are sorry Sasuke, but it must be done. Until you someday regain the sharingan, you cannot be considered a true Uchiha. You can still use the name, but you will no longer have access to your family's wealth and jutsu collection. And in the event you never regain your kekkei genkai, you won't be allowed access until you sire a child that does show access to the sharingan."

"Fine, then get those stupid brainless bitches that fawn over every move I make. It's about damn time they have some use to me." Sasuke said.

Inoichi frowned. "You would dare use the girls that admire you just to quicken your rise back to power? Have you no feelings for your fans?" 'Ino is not going to like hearing this.'

"I am an avenger. I must kill those that try to worsen my own life. And I need all the power of the Uchiha to do that. If the quickest way to regain that power is what you said, so be it. I need every bit of power I can get my hands on, and I'll do whatever it takes to get it as soon as possible. I absolutely cannot afford to wait."

"Don't the feelings of the girls mean anything to you?" Chouza asked.

Sasuke just scoffed. "Why should I care about a bunch of whiny-ass bimbos? They're just there to do a job and make things easier for me. Plain and simple."

One of the civilian members, the father of one of the Uchiha's anonymous fangirls, glared at him. "Well if that's your attitude then why should any girl help you that way?"

Sasuke smirked confidently. "I am the last Uchiha clan law or not. Therefore I can invoke the CRA and the girls will have to do it."

Sarutobi sent him some KI to regain his attention. "While you are correct that you can invoke the CRA for genetic reasons alone if nothing else, you're forgetting two things about it."

"Like what?" Sasuke said, sitting back down now.

"For one, that the girls cannot be forced to take part in it. CRA law says that participation must be 100% voluntary, and if anyone has reason to suspect otherwise the girl's can be put under a mindwalk and genjutsu test to ensure their actions are not forced and no form of rape occured. If it's discovered they are forced, then the CRA is revoked and the invoker and/or manipulator is arrested for life. Also, the invoker is not allowed to participate in missions or be considered an active ninja for the sake of reducing the risk of losing the genes."

"In short Sasuke, you cannot demand or force any girls to have your kids, and you will not be allowed to leave the village or fight anyone, including Itachi, so you don't die before we confirm the sharingan was passed on." Kakashi clarified.

Sasuek rose to his feet angrily again. "YOU CAN'T DO THIS! I MUST KILL ITACHI!"

"Then don't invoke the CRA." Shikaku told him. "Like it or not, you have only two choices. You can either use the CRA and have immediate access to your clan's property again, but you can't do anything with it except help your kids. Or you can wait and pray for your sharingan to come back on it's own and train to kill your brother the hard way. There is simply no other option."

"Actually, there is only one option for Sasuke here." Sarutobi told everyone. "I'm sorry if I gave everyone here the wrong impression about what can be done for him. I was simply saying what could happen if he did invoke the CRA. However, due to medical reasons he cannot."

"What do you mean?" Koharu asked.

"According to the medics, Sasuke is now as sterile as a surgeon's tool. It is physically impossible for him to sire any offspring period. Therefore the CRA cannot apply to him. Kakashi, you might to get yourself tested too."

Everyone was shellshocked to hear this. Then Natsumi spoke up. "You mean tell me that the last Uchiha is not only incapable of using his sharingan, but is also incapable of passing it down to the next generation?"

Sarutobi nodded. "Yes. It appears that the Uchiha line will die with Sasuke right here."

Sasuke looked livid. 'I swear, I will KILL whoever did this to me!'

Sarutobi folded his hands together and rested his chin on them. "So basically Sasuke, you cannot invoke the CRA as there would be no point to it, and by your clan's law, you cannot have access to anything under Uchiha claim until you somehow regain your kekkei genkai. In short, you are no longer an elite, but a normal genin shinobi."

"I am an elite! End of story!"

"Oh shut the hell up already. You're not an elite anything." One of the council members told him irritably. "You really think you're so special just because of your family name? Big deal. What have you personally done that's so great?"

Sasuke thought it over, trying to come up with an irrefutable answer. "I was my class' Rookie of the Year."

"That may have mattered back when you were in the academy, but out in the real world it doesn't matter. There you were in controlled situations with no real threats to your safety. Out on actual missions there will be things you're not prepared for and there is always the risk of death. The elites are the ones who make it thru and live to see another day." Tsume told him.

"The elites are the survivors and the succeeders." Shikaku concurred, much to the emo's chagrin.

"In short, you are now no better than any other shinobi that's without a kekkei genkai or clan and you will be treated as such until further notice." Koharu sadly told him.

Sasuke was pissed. The people who had always catered to his needs were now telling him his only sense of self was now obsolete. "You cannot do this to me!"

"If you don't like it, then by all means resign. But it won't change anything. At least if you stay a ninja you can still try to accomplish your goals." Sarutobi told him, then narrowed his eyes. "But let me make this perfectly clear Sasuke, until further notice, you are no different than anyone else. Until you prove otherwise, you are on the same level as all other genin without clans."

"Which actually makes you one of the lower ranking ones since most genin here do come from clans." Hizashi added.

Sasuke was mentally on a precipice. He simply couldn't comprehend that everything he knew about himself was being thrown out the window. No one could, of course, but for him this was too much to take in. "You can't do this! This village needs me!"

"Why? Without your sharingan, or the ability to pass it on, what good are you to us boy?" Danzo asked coldly, making Sasuke freeze. "The fact of the matter is boy that your sharingan is the only thing about you that made you special in the first place. Had the Uchiha not been wiped out by your brother, you would have just been another academy student to us. Your brother's actions are the only reason we've ensured things have worked out in your favor all the time. Such as discounts at all stores and your rent, extra credit on your grades, and more access than normally permitted to genin for jutsus."

Sasuke looked like he wanted to throw up. "That can't be. I'm the best in this village. You've been telling me that for years."

"Didn't you ever ask yourself why?" Danzo asked. "We did so because you're of use to us. Or at least you were."

"Danzo-san, maybe you should stop right there." Koharu suggested.

"Why? What's the point of hiding it from him anymore?" Danzo asked then faced Sasuke again. "We pampered you because you were our only hope for keeping the sharingan alive in this village and none other. Nothing more. But now that you can't and most likely never will, you're going to have to live on like everyone else you're so certain is beneath you. Face it, you're nobody now."

Sasuke's mind collapsed, making his body go limb. 'All this time, I thought they really thought I was superior. But... they were just using me the whole time? Am I really no better than anyone else without my eyes?''

Danzo turned to face the hokage. "Sarutobi, is it possible that we can somehow bring Itachi back to the village so we can use him to keep the sharingan alive?"

This brought Sasuke back to reality. "What? You'd really bring him back here for that? But I need to kill him for what he did."

"Shut up kid." One of the civilian members told him. "I agree with Danzo-sama. We must do whatever it takes to keep the sharingan from going extinct. If Itachi Uchiha is now our only option, then I say we do what we must. Even if it means offering him a full pardon for his actions."

"We shall discuss that later. For now, meeting adjourned." Sarutobi declared.

Everyone started to leave the room but Sasuke made no effort to go anywhere. Kakashi approached him. "C'mon Sasuke, let's take you home." His student rose to his feet and kept to himself the entire walk back to his apartment. 'I just hope he doesn't do anything rash.'

'The next time I see those music note ninja, I will kill them all.' Sasuke promised himself.


	36. Confirmation

Ch. 36 Confirmation

Back in Oto, another round of bad news was on the minds of some people. Kushina was currently in a break room at Oto's hospital, after having a physical to confirm the extend of her health. Tsunade and Shizune were sitting at a table with her, taking a break from their jobs to keep her company. Tsunade had a small bottle of sake in hand while Shizune had some green tea and a plain bagel with some jelly on it. Kushina had no appetite or thirst at the moment.

"Have you let it sink in yet?" Shizune asked before taking a bite of her bagel.

Kushina sighed. "Yeah, and... it makes me sick to my stomach."

The other day Tsunade had informed Kushina of everything concerning Konoha and Naruto. While he had told her some important things back in Wave, he had not told her everything. Tsunade filled in the gaps. Things like how Sarutobi was lax in ensuring Naruto's overall safety, how Orochimaru had to fake his and several other kid's deaths to get them away safely, what happened involving the Hyuuga's and even the Uchiha massacre, and what Sarutobi did in regards to Gaara too.

"I know what you mean." Tsunade said. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to help sooner. You weren't scheduled to go into labor for another week or so and Minato didn't send me a message or anything. When I did send a slug to talk to Minato after the kyuubi attack, when it came back it told me Sensei was the hokage and all three of you were dead. You've got to understand that I had no reason to mistrust Sensei back then."

"I do understand, and I don't blame you Tsunade. But..."

"But what?" Tsunade asked.

"This doesn't make sense. How could this all happen? Everyone knew Minato-kun and I were about to have a baby. Didn't anyone ask where Naruto came from? Didn't anyone notice the resemblance? Just who started the shit in my son's life and why did they do that?" Kushina asked on the verge of tears. Tears of sorrow or anger no one knew.

"I don't know. I can only guess." The slug sannin answered with regret.

Kabuto knocked on the doorway to get the women's attention. "Sorry to interrupt you, but Orochimaru-sama requests your presence in the council room right away Tsunade-sama. Kushina-san, you can come too as your input would be appreciated."

Tsunade rose from her seat. "I'll be there shortly. Any idea what it's about?"

Kabuto shook his head. "Nope, sorry. I do know I've got to attend too since Jiraiya-sama won't be available."

"What about your genin team?" Shizune asked.

"I've got them doing a border patrol routine with Kidomaru-san. That should occupy them for the time being." Kabuto said before turning around and gesturing for them to follow.

In fifteen minutes Tsunade, Kabuto, and Kushina were inside the council room in the Otokage tower. Shizune stayed at the hospital to keep up her duty and because technically she hadn't been invited to come along. Tsunade saw everyone on the shinobi side was there with Orochimaru seated in the most dominant position and both seats next to him and the civilian side empty. Kabuto took Jiraiya's seat and she took her own. She also happened to notice the presence of another person, who wasn't an official member of the council but belonged in this room no less.

"Subsonic? What brings you here?" She asked the masked spy.

"There was something I just had to see." Subsonic said before removing the mask and smiling at Kushina. "Hello Kushina-san. Long time no see." Kushina gasped, and said Subsonic's real name in awe and disbelief, as if uncertain they were really there before her. "Yeah it's really me. Trust me, I'm more surprised to see you than you are to see me."

"What are you doing here?" Kushina asked.

"Let's just say I was one of the few people in Konoha not blinded to your son. I've been helping him and Orochimaru-sama for years by keeping an eye on Konoha for years since they left. By the way, I have this for you." Subsonic then pulled out a storage scroll and unsealed the contents. Out popped a sheathed sword. "Luckily I managed to get ahold of this before whoever took you away got to it. I've also been holding onto your husband's jutsu scrolls too for when Naruto's ready to learn them."

Kushina took her sword and held it close to her. It had been one of the few mementos from her homeland. "Thank you."

"No sweat. Anything for an old friend."

Orochimaru coughed, letting them know to save the rest of their reunion for later. They bowed and let him speak. "Everyone, for years we have discussed the possibility of having to engage Konoha or Kiri in combat. We have several reasons to. Konoha has done some rather horrible things to the least deserving of all people and Kiri tried to kill off a good portion of this village's population. Both of their actions led to our village's creation, and deep down we've always harbored the desire to strike back at them. I've called you together to inform you we may have our chance to get our pound of flesh soon if we choose to take it."

"What do you mean?" One of the council members, the Fuuma representative, asked. This one was Sasame's uncle Ichigo Fuuma and he was dressed in a black shirt with blue pants and sported his orange hair much like Naruto did. He usually didn't look too friendly but he was a good person to be around generally.

"When it comes to a direct attack, we do have the element of surprise. However, both villages have the homefield and number advantage. We could put up a good first wave attack and do some damage, but once that ended we'd have to retreat or risk total annihilation. So the best option for maximizing damage in such an event would be to have agents already within the village limits when the big forces strike. The problem however is getting such agents in place." Orochimaru explained.

"But now that problem can be solved." He continued with a smile. "The chuunin exams will be coming to Konoha shortly, and what better chance would we have to get some of our forces within Konoha's walls without fuss?"

Ichigo Fuuma raised his hand. "If I may, Otokage-sama?" Orochimaru nodded his approval. "There are a few key figures you failed to mention. If I remember correctly, a village needs an invite for their teams to even participate in the exams, and Konoha doesn't even know we exist. And also, if we by chance did get an invite, the only agents we could send in are a few genin and their jounin instructors. Is that really enough to make it worth it? And if it is, when would they strike?"

"I'm glad to see you've thought this out Ichigo-san." Orochimaru replied. "Yes, some genin and fewer jounin are the best we can send in, at first. Assuming they make it to the final round, where the village leaders are permitted admission to see them compete, I can get there without suspicion and so can Jiraiya and Tsunade. I can also bring the Sound Five with me as guards so they'd be directly inside too. Does that sound acceptable?"

"It sounds good to me Otokage-sama. But what about the invite?" The Kaguya representative asked. This one wasn't directly related to Kimimaro but was the oldest woman in the clan. Her name was Kaede Kaguya, a short woman with wrinkly pale skin and long white hair in a low ponytail but enough hop in her step to make her look ten years younger when active.

"I received a message from the kazekage saying his village was just invited to participate in the chuunin exams. He said he's anxious to do some damage to Konoha for what they tried to do to him and his son years ago now that his children are old enough to do so, and he wanted to know if we'd like to do the same at the same time."

"So you're saying that Kazekage-sama has already decided to assault Konoha?" Kaede Kaguya asked.

"I'm not entirely certain. That is a possibility, but I get the impression that if we were to decline this opportunity, Kazekage-sama would settle for spilling some leaf blood during the tests. If we do assist him, then he'll aim for more." Orochimaru answered.

"But still, what about our invite?" The Momochi representative, Haku's mother Naomi Momochi, asked. She was the representative instead of Zabuza because she was the actual ice-wielder of the duo and he was more suited for field work anyway.

Orochimaru grinned at her. "Simple, Kazekage-sama said if we want, he'll tell the hokage that he'll accept the invite on the condition our village gets to participate too. I know that means we'll be revealing ourselves, but the time for hiding may be past anyway. At least our location will remain a secret."

"So what you're saying is that we have the opportunity to do some damage to Konoha along with our allie, but we should vote on if this is something we really should do?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes, exactly." The snake sannin told his teammate. "I'll open the floor to everyone. Give your views on if we should or shouldn't do this."

"What exactly do we have to gain from such an act?" The Onigumo representative, Hideki Onigumo asked. He was Kidomaro's father and looked like grey-haired version of his son with a beard much like Asuma possessed. He was missing the top of his right arms, an old wound from an earlier fight in his reckless youth.

"For one, we get to see what our genin can do during the exams and give them an honest promotion to the rank for once." Orochimaru answered. "And we can gain a sense of satisfaction in giving Konoha a black eye at least. Plus, think of this as practice for if we ever need to do something similar to Kiri or someone attacks us. Heck, the only reason we don't focus on attacking that village is we and our allies can't get any armies to it without them becoming aware."

"If I may, Otokage-sama." Kaede spoke up. "We have enjoyed nearly a decade without unnecessary conflict. I for one do not wish to see that come to an end and risk invasion for the sake of spiting a village. Aside from your personal reasons, what other motivation do you have for wanting this?"

"The main reason I bring this up is because we won't get another chance like this for years. If endangering the lives of several children in our care and believing those kids deserved it isn't reason enough to retaliate, what is?" Orochimaru answered.

"Other wars and invasions in the past have been started for less." Kabuto pointed out.

"Would Iwa assist?" Ichigo asked.

"We'll have to contact them after Suna to find out." The snake sannin replied.

"Personally, I agree with Otokage-sama." Subsonic spoke up. "We have a good chance here to administer belated justice to Konoha. I think the yondaime hokage would agree something needs to be done to the people who spit on his sacrifice. Hurting their star genin was a good start, but it's hardly enough."

"If my husband knew what my son and Tsunade-sama told me, he'd do something about it." Kushina sadly added.

"By the way Kushina-san, I have a theory on that you may want to hear." Subsonic told the redhead.

"What is it?" She curiously asked.

"I've often asked myself why no one ever saw the resemblance between your husband and your son, especially someone like Kakashi who should have noticed it immediately. My guess is that someone used a genjutsu on the majority of the village to prevent them from being able to. It's the only logical option. Since Otokage-sama and I were elsewhere for a time when Naruto was born, we escaped the casting. The question is who and why."

Kushina was stunned silent. 'That explains why Kakashi acted the way he did back in Wave.'

Tsunade spoke up. "If you're so certain about that Subsonic, why have you not tried to break such a genjutsu?"

"Why would I? I couldn't prove it and still can't. It's only speculation. Since I don't know who cast the genjutsu, although I do have ideas, even if I did break it that would only bring attention to myself that would reveal things I can't reveal yet. Not to mention there's no point without Naruto there to remind them of everything they've done and show them all the similarities. Without him there to help their minds put two-and-two together, they wouldn't change at all."

"I see. But that theory sounds very fitting. Is it possible the sandaime hokage was the one who cast it? He was after all the one who let Naruto's jinchuuriki status known but not his heritage and he was the one who created the Iwa claim to justify it all." Tsunade asked.

"He is one of my suspects. But if he was the guilty one then why didn't he affect Orochimaru-sama too?" Subsonic asked. No one answered. "I think it was someone who never actually had much contact with him. But who could get in touch with almost everyone in power in Konoha without much fuss and have reason to make Naruto's life hell?"

"That's why I suspect Sensei." Tsunade added. "Maybe he didn't affect Orochimaru because someone had to be around to ensure Naruto grew up. And I think he could have done that to the village so that when Naruto got older he'd see that almost everyone hated him but the old man was one of the few that showed him compassion so he'd feel compelled to do whatever it took to please the old man and stay on his good side. That's what I've always thought was his idea. Remember this man would let the Hyuuga's kill Hitomi because she found something he didn't want found."

KI then emitted from everyone in the room at the thought of one person doing this to a newborn and an expecting mother. "That old man and that village have a lot to answer for. All in favor of sending a few teams for the exams?" Orochimaru asked.

* * *

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in his office reading the scroll he just got from Takamaru, Suna's messenger hawk to Konoha.

_Hokage-sama, in regards to your invite to send some genin to the upcoming chuunin exams, I have this to say. Only one of my teams has been selected for taking it, which hardly seems enough to me. To make up for the lack of numbers, I request an extended invitation to another group I know. This is a small village not unlike Hoshi or Kusa; it is called Oto. They are a recently started village and closer to my country so I wouldn't be surprised if you haven't heard of them yet. I would like to see how their genin fare in the exams as well as my own. I will inform the leader if you agree to my conditions. If not, then I will wait for the next one._

_Yondaime Kazekage_

Sarutobi stroked his beard. 'Hmm... a new village? Could they be the ones that incapacitated the Uchiha? I think I would like to see what their genin can do within my reach.'


	37. Additions

Ch. 37 Additions

Hanabi was walking down the halls of the Otokage tower looking for Naruto. She had something on her mind. 'What would he say? I thought it over while he was away and I don't see any holes in it. Even Okaa-san agreed it was a smart idea. But all I need is his permission. Neechan's too, but she's easier to convince.'

The youngest byakugan-wielder in Oto reached his room and knocked on the door. He didn't answer, so she knocked again. "Naruto-kun?" There was no answer again, prompting her to press her ear against the door. She heard nothing. "Where is he?"

Stepping back from the door, she crossed her arms and closed her eyes in thought. "Hmm... maybe he's training with Neechan again. I thought he would be on break by now. Guess I was wrong." She opened her eyes. "Byakugan." Veins beside her eyes bulged and a tiny visible pupil appeared, allowing her to see all around her.

She noticed two key things. The first was that her sister and her team were indeed training in one of the forested training grounds Oto had available. This particular one wasn't that far from the tower. The second was that Tayuya of the Sound Five was inside the building and heading in her direction, carrying an envelope in her right hand.

"I wonder what she's doing." Hanabi said as she deactivated her doujutsu and walked towards where she saw the redhead. It only took going around two corners to reach her. "Hi Tayuya-nee-san, are you off duty?"

"Not really. I just got back from a long pain-in-the-ass delivery job to Suna thru the fucking hot desert. I've got something to tell Otokage-sama and give this to Naruto-kun too." She answered as she held up the envelope. "Then I'm going to take a nice bath and relax. I'm not a big fan of hot dry places."

It was a rather odd thing to anyone else at first glance, but these two girls actually got along pretty well. They first met about two years ago when Naruto had to watch the young girl as a favor to Hitomi and brought her to Ichiraku's and then to bring Tayuya her own lunch. The Sound Five's lone female member made sure to keep her tongue somewhat in check around the girl, but fortunately Hanabi never paid it much mind when she slipped. It wasn't like she didn't hear that language from others too. And like Naruto Hanabi often thought Tayuya had a good sense of humor.

"Hmm... what's in it?"

"I don't know, but I do know it came from the kazekage's daughter." Tayuya said.

Hanabi smiled coyly. "Think she's interested in our favorite blonde?"

Tayuya grinned back. "I wouldn't doubt it. They have been penpals for a while."

Hanabi looked right at the envelope and was overcome with curiousity. She activated her byakugan and read what was inside it.

_Dear Naruto-kun,_

_I'm glad you finally became a genin. Maybe someday we'll be able to go on a joint mission together. I know Gaara would like that, and I think Kankuro too even though he denies it. I know I'd love to see you use your talents in a real fight and maybe go flying with you one day since we both can now. _

_So you really need to get nine girls pregnant for your village? Weird, and all this time I thought your sister was joking when she told me that years ago. Yeah, she told me when I first visited your village and we were kids, and naive girl that I was, I toyed with the idea of being one of them. Don't think wrong of me, we were both kids and you were cute and fun to be with, but now that we're older we can see how difficult it would be for us to have a relationship like that. I'm not saying you're not worth it, you are one of my good friends and always will be. But unless I move to Oto or you move to Suna, how would it work? You can't come here and I can't break away from my own duties unless Tou-san lets me. _

_But enough of nice fantasies. If you want my advice on what to do about the girls, my first recommendation is to know about their skills and talents. Any child you sire will learn from the mother too so the mother's abilities should be compatable with the kekkei genkai you passed down to them. Let's say hypothetically you and I did have a child together. With what I can teach our child too, I'd be a good candidate for mothering any child who inherited your Gravity Control, but probably not any others. Again this is just hypothetical._

_I'm glad to hear you want to treat each of the girls you will accept as special loved ones and not just baby factories or sex dolls. Men like you are hard to find. It's a shame there's so much distance between us. But I'm happy for you. Write me again if you need to talk later._

_Temari Subaku._

"Wow." Hanabi muttered when she rested her kekkei genkai.

"Wow what?" Tayuya asked.

"She wants him bad. You have to read between the lines to see it, but the desire is clear as crystal. But she's not expecting to be accepted so she's covering it up." Hanabi explained.

'So that sassy blonde wants to be with my blonde?' Tayuya thought. 'Well, Naruto-kun does like her, and getting her here should be manageable for our village leaders to agree on. I don't see why not. I guess we found our eighth girl.'

Hanabi arched an eyebrow. "Judging from the look on your face I'm guessing you're in favor of the idea?"

"And you're not?"

Hanabi looked down. "N-no, if she makes Naruto-kun happy that's what matters."

"But?" Tayuya asked, sensing there was more being unsaid here.

"But..." Hanabi added with a small kick at nothing on the floor. "...how many more girls does Naruto-kun need?"

Tayuya looked confused and surprised to hear that question. "Not counting the Suna girl, two. One if she _does_ get accepted later on. Why? Don't tell me you want to join Hana-chan."

Hanabi gave the redhead eye contact again, and the older woman could see the little girl was on the verge of tears. "I know what it sounds like, but can't you and the others at least hear me out before you dismiss me?"

Tayuya got down on her knees to make the girl feel more comfortable now. "Okay Hana-chan, tell me what's on your mind."

The former Hyuuga, now named Hibiki, sighed before answering the flutist's question. "I'm a kid, I know, and that's why I wouldn't be a first choice for helping Naruto-kun like you or Neechan would. But... if I was closer to your age I would be, wouldn't I?"

"Yeah." Tayuya said, stretching out the word. "After all, the reason Naruto-kun's allowed nine girls in the first place is so he can have several kids that will go on to create some clans for Oto. And -no offense- you're just too young to help out in that way."

"But I could be old enough with Naruto-kun's Age Control." Hanabi pointed out.

Tayuya opened her mouth to counter her claim, but no sound emitted once the words regestured in her mind. "Well... damn, gotta give you that one. But seriously now, do you really want to end your childhood so quickly and go thru puberty right away? It's not a pleasant experience no fucking way. Not to mention you'll still be ten years old up here." She finished while poking Hanabi in the forehead.

"Tayuya-nee-san, if you were me, what would you do?"

The redhead didn't answer right away. Most of the reason was because she was afraid of just how to answer that. Another part was that she remembered a bit about herself back when she was ten years old too.

Tayuya wouldn't call her childhood bad, just lonely. She had the two standard parents that loved her and raised her but they were always busy during the day working as civilians. They once had been ninja native to the country before Oto was established but after a long battle with an old rival, which they won but at the cost of their home, her parents just lost all their motivation for being ninja anymore. The main reason they moved to Oto when it was created was for a place to retire but not feel disconnected from the general population. What better place then where many others were ninja too?

The thing was that even though they decided to retire, their daughter wanted to start her own ninja career. Her parents didn't stop her but they did warn her it would be tough and exhausting. So far the biggest problem at the time had been that few girls in Oto actually wanted to be kunoichi. Tayuya wasn't the only one but she did feel far outnumbered by the boys. That was part of the reason she developed her trademark attitude, to feel less excluded with her comrades and be taken more seriously despite being one girl amongst many boys. Too bad some of them like that fatass Jirobo thought that wasn't such a good idea.

In the end Tayuya had gotten her wish and become one of the strongest kunoichi in all of Land of Rice. She was probably on par with Shizune by now, or at least Anko. But the road to that destination had been lonely with few friends and many evenings with her parents out of the home. Naruto was probably the first real friend she had ever really had, and she valued that bond more than anything. So back then if she was given the offer to be an important part of his life when she was younger, at the cost of growing up quicker than normal, would she accept?

For Naruto, she would.

However, she and Hanabi were different people. The young girl was rarely lonely and never had to develop defense mechanisms to fit in better amongst her peers. So even though they both liked the same boy, the odds were that Hanabi's affection wasn't quite on the same level as Tayuya's was.

"Yeah, Hana-chan. That's _if_ you were me. But you're not me, y'know? You're you, so shit ain't exactly the same for us."

"I know, but I like Naruto-kun just like the rest of you. Why can't I be given the chance to at least be considered? I just need to be a few years older. If it works out, then it's worth the sacrifice to me. If it doesn't, then he can just turn me back and I won't have to spend the rest of my life wondering 'what if?'." Hanabi replied, one tear escaping from each of her eyes.

Tayuya quickly felt bad for the girl. But before she could give in to her, the redhead had one more thing to bring up. "Okay Hana-chan, you have a point. Me and the others are pretty much doing that same thing here. But you gotta understand, that would mean becoming a mother in the next few years. Could you handle that?"

Hanabi wiped her eyes. "By the time it actually happens, then yes. And that's actually where I bring up my best point."

Tayuya arched an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"For the idea behind Naruto-kun's harem to work, all the girls involved need skills that their kids can benefit inheriting too. The girl that wrote that letter for him says the same thing I realized while he was away. With that in mind, I'm one of the best choices for being a member. Remember the Age Control? It only works in close range situations. So the kids who inherit it need to be taught to be close range fighters, like me. I told Okaa-san that and she said it works out perfectly and gives my clan the edge they'll need in the future so I help him and he helps me. The fact that I love him just makes us more compatible."

Tayuya thought it over and saw no holes in the argument except one. "You love him huh? In what way?"

"I enjoy his company and personality and look forward to the next time we're together every time we part. I know he's not perfect but he's perfect just the way he is. I see him in my dreams and want to be a part of his dreams, like you. So you tell me." Hanabi answered.

Tayuya smiled warmly and ruffled the girl's hair. "I'd say that's somewhere between a childhood crush and the beginning of young love. But I'm not the romantic type so what the fuck do I know for sure? So if you're so damn confident about it, why don't you go tell him what you just told me?"

"I think I will. Wanna come along?"

"Sure. Why the hell not? I still need to give him this anyway after I see Otokage-sama." The redhead replied while indicating the envelope.

* * *

In less than half an hour Tayuya had told Orochimaru about her mission in Suna and followed Hanabi to Naruto's training ground. He was sparring against Isaribi while Anko handled Hinata. The two visiting girls couldn't help but just gaze at him for a bit before making themselves known.

"Hey Naruto." Tayuya shouted. The whiskered blonde turned to look at the redhead, which gave Isaribi an opening to knock him on his feet.

"Sorry about that Naruto-kun. Let me make you feel better." The purple-haired swimmer told him cheerfully as she knelt down next to him and held his hand, indicating that had been her plan all along.

"Before you get too comfortable there pal, you might want to read this." Tayuya told him before holding out the envelope.

"Thanks Tayuya-chan. Glad you're back from your mission." He said as he took it and opened it, pulling out the letter. He read it over but didn't say anything while he read. Isaribi curiously read over his shoulder, and Anko and Hinata ended up doing the same. While they were reading Hinata and Isaribi exchanged comprehending looks regarding the content.

"Man, I feel kinda bad for Temari-chan." Naruto said when he finished.

"Why's that?" Hinata asked.

"She said she thought about coming here to be with us a while ago, but can't see how now. I'm having a hard time seeing how to make that happen too. But at least she's already got a life back in Suna." He answered.

"That's not what she wants though." Isaribi said. "C'mon she's willing to give up her home just to be here with you and help you in our group. I'm sure Otokage-sama could find a way to let her come."

"Yeah, maybe it can be called an alliance marriage between our two villages to make it legal for her to come here." Isaribi added.

Naruto chuckled. "Are you girls actually more eager for this harem-thing than I am?"

Hinata wrapped her arms around him from behind. "Naru-kun, if she could come here, would you accept her in our group?"

"I do like Temari-chan. Always have. I just didn't think about it since she lived elsewhere. So sure I guess. If she can get here." He answered.

"Great. Now all you need is one more girl. And I know another volunteer." Tayuya stated.

"Who?" Naruto and Hinata asked.

"Me." Hanabi said with a smile.

"You?" Hinata asked.

"Sisters share everything, don't they?" The younger byakugan wielder asked.

"But still, you're too young to help me out like this Hanabi-chan." Naruto told her.

Tayuya grabbed his shoulder. "Naruto-kun, come with me for a moment while she talks to them. I've got something to show you."

"Keep your clothes on." Hinata told them as they walked away.

"No promises." Tayuya teasingly shouted back.

* * *

Orochimaru was in his office talking to Tsunade while Tayuya and Naruto watched them from a tree, unable to hear anything the sannin were saying. "Why did you bring me here?" Naruto asked.

"Take a look at those two there Naruto-kun. How long ago were they born?" She asked.

"About fifty years ago."

"And how old do they look?"

"Their early thirties." Naruto answered, not seeing where this was going.

"And why is that?" Tayuya knowingly asked.

"My Age Control kekkei genkai. You know that."

Tayuya smiled. "So you can make people younger. Or older too if you want."

"Of course. So what's your point?"

Tayuya pointed at the window and he looked. "Naruto-kun, you can take an old woman like Tsunade-sama and make her into a beautiful young... eyes UP Naruto-kun!" He stiffened at her command. "A young fertile fuckable woman again. So that means you could make Hanabi-chan into a sexy young woman too. And before you ask, _she's_ actually the one who asked for it."

Naruto looked back at the flutist. "But why would she do that? I've got nothing against Hanabi-chan as a friend but she's just a kid."

"And you can change that. All she wants is to see if it can work out for her. If it doesn't then you can turn her back, right?" He nodded. "So why the hell not? I was skeptical too at first but she convinced me it's worth a shot."

Naruto sighed. "Give me some time to think about it. Okay?"

Tayuya nodded. "Sure thing. Hey, if you do go for it, maybe we can have a threeway someday. Wouldn't that be fucking awesome?" She laughed when his nosebleed made him fall out of the tree. "Oh shit he took that seriously? Damn this is going to be fun."


	38. Opportunities

Ch. 38 Opportunities

Back with the girls another discussion of a similar nature was going on.

"No Hanabi, I'm not sharing Naru-kun with you." Hinata told her little sister firmly. You could tell how bothered she was by the tone of her voice and the fact that she didn't use the imouto title.

"And why not exactly?" Hanabi asked, giving her sister a hard look.

Isaribi just looked on at the moment. 'I think I can see electricity jolting between their eyes.'

Anko was watching too. 'This should be entertaining.' Someone in Alto attire coming up to her from behind caught her interest more though.

"Because you're too young. End of story." Hinata stated.

"No, not end of story. Hear me out okay?"

"And why should I?"

Hanabi smiled in a dangerous way. "If you don't, Naruto-kun will. You know he'll hear me out for sure."

Hinata mentally grimaced. "Fine. Explain whatever you want to."

"I know I'm too young now, so can't you just reserve a spot in the group for me when I'm able to have kids? Please?" Hanabi asked.

"And why should I and Naru-kun wait that long? By then we might find another for the final position."

"But I'm your sister. Don't I matter?"

"Don't give me that Hanabi." Hinata told her. "You do matter to me very much. But I don't need to cater to your every whim to prove it. If you think I do, then you're too childish to get this wish granted."

"But Neechan, I can help Naruto-kun just as much as you can when it comes to starting his new clans." Hanabi countered.

Hinata arched an eyebrow. "How?"

"Well, I figured that you would most likely pass down the Neo-Byakugan to your kids. Who better to teach them how to use it than someone who already has such a doujutsu like you. Since I'm being trained to be a close-range fighter, I could help pass down Age Control which can only be used in close-range situations."

Isaribi smirked. "Actually that's not such a bad idea."

"You stay out of this." Hinata warned without any real negative intent.

"Why?" Hanabi asked. "As one of your harem sisters doesn't she have a say in who gets involved? Even if Naruto-kun makes the final decision?"

"She's got a point Hinata-chan." Isaribi told her teammate.

"Are you in favor of the idea? She's too young for this. And for all we know she may later decide she likes some other boy closer to her own age." Hinata replied.

"That's why I asked if you could just reserve the last spot in the group for me until I can have kids. Do you have any other volunteers?" Hanabi asked.

The fact was currently they didn't. While Naruto was liked amongst his peers, fangirls were actually a rarity in Oto. The main reason was that the education system made sure to enforce the fact to it's female students that the battlefield was no place to worry about if a boy was noticing them. One part that helped was that all kunoichi-in-training had to attend a month of classes with no boys present in their final year, where they were taught kunoichi-specific lessons and harsh truths for their careers. Generally without the boys around to encourage them, most fangirls either lost their interest in the shinobi job or learned to have different priorities when on the job.

So Hinata drew a blank regarding Hanabi's question. She honestly couldn't think of anyone else to consider over her own sister. As a result, she had little choice but to cave in. "Fine imouto-chan, we'll hold a place for you in the future. For now at least."

Hanabi smiled and held out her hand. "Okay, if when I can have children and I'm still interested in joining, you and Naruto-kun will let me be a part of your little harem. Deal? With your teammate here as a witness?"

Hinata shook her sister's hand. "Deal."

Hanabi struggled to contain her snicker. 'Ha! Got you Neechan. I say when I can have kids, not several years from now like you probably assumed I meant. I could join tomorrow thanks to Age Control if I wanted to. You're just lucky I'm not going to rush things so soon. I'd like to at least be chronologically twelve before I make my move.'

"Hey, where did Anko-sensei go?" Isaribi asked, regaining the girl's attention.

Hinata looked towards where she last saw the purple-haired jounin, but she was gone.

* * *

Anko was currently in Orochimaru's office along with Kurenai and Kabuto, standing in front of Orochimaru seated at his desk. The Alto member told her she was needed for a chat with him so she left her team to handle it's own dispute for now.

Orochimaru made himself comfortable. "My three students, as you are aware, we've been waiting for years for the chance to get back at Konoha for the injustices it has committed. Now, we have our chance."

"How so?" Kurenai asked.

"Thanks to our ally the Kazekage, we've gotten an invite to participate in the chuunin exams in Konoha this year. We'll never have a better chance for a sneak attack on the village so this is the perfect opportunity. I've called you three here to see if you think your students are qualified to participate. We will still take the test seriously even if we have a separate agenda."

"A chance for genin from our village to earn an honest chuunin promotion? And a chance to kick some leaf ass? I'm in." Anko replied.

"Otokage-sama, if I may, personally I'm over my personal grief with that village. However, I do understand that they need some sense beaten into them so I won't object to your plan. Also, I believe my genin are ready for the challenge." Kurenai told the pale sannin.

Kabuto hummed in thought for a moment before answering. "My genin may need a little more experience, but if Anko-chan's team and Kurenai-chan's team is joining then I know they'll have their backs covered. I'll ask them first but if they accept then I'm all for it."

"Perfect." Orochimaru said with a pleased grin. "I'm especially glad that you two agreed Anko-chan and Kurenai-chan. Your jinchuuriki will prove to be very helpful components to our goals. Above all else we must ensure those two make it to the finals. Kabuto-kun, your team will help keep Konoha guessing as to the range of our villages abilities since no genin from Konoha have encountered them yet, until the other two teams."

The three jounin nodded. "Understood. I presume that since Naruto and Fuu must make it to the final round, that is when we'll make the first strike?" Kurenai asked.

"Yes, that is when Konoha will be most preoccupied so that will be our window of opportunity. Also, since we're also going to be evaluating our genin we don't want to cheat them out of it by denying them the right to be in the finals right?" Orochimaru asked. "Also, Suna will be sending their teams too so we must ensure that their jinchuuriki Gaara gets to the finals too. Konoha's forces will counterstrike strongly even if we strike first and with Suna's help so having three ready jinchuuriki will play a big factor in our favor."

"So I'm guessing we'll need to disguise ourselves as Suna nin for this mission?" Kabuto asked, remembering the times when Oto ninja had to pretend to be affiliated with other villages to do their jobs.

Orochimaru shook his head. "No, not for this. That was my plan, but two things have changed that. Kazekage-sama specifically mentioned to the hokage that a new village would enter the exam with his teams, so if Konoha doesn't see anyone associated with a new village they will get suspicious. Also, some Konoha genin saw six of our own genin with the real symbol on their hitai-ates so using new ones would just confuse them and they may alert Konoha officials of it which may get our forces unable to progress in the exams and thus ruining our chances for the effective assault we want."

"Otokage-sama, from what I've seen, the Konoha genin are in no shape to take the genin exams. The odds of them seeing our genin there is slim." Anko interjected.

"But not nonexistant. Their jounin sensei may enter them for some reason. And even if he doesn't, you can't guarantee they won't see your genin on the streets before the exam or during the break between the second and third rounds." Orochimaru countered. Anko slowly nodded in understanding. "So we're going to have to go as Oto nin, not Suna. And in case you're worried they'll be detained for anything they did on their mission to Wave, remember that as guests Konoha cannot legally approach them unless they commit a crime on Konoha's turf, per the international chuunin exam rules."

Because the exams took place in five different countries and so many from other countries got to attend, a set of rules for every round and every country it took place in had to be made for the alliance between villages to remain stable. One of these rules was that those invited to attend could not be arrested for any crimes committed outside the village's walls, nor could they be taken into custody for any reason unless it could be confirmed with evidence they had done something illegal within the village. The rule became necessary after Kiri tried to kill all those attending one of the exams there that had a kekkei genkai and after Kumo tried to trap an attending Hyuuga member at one of it's own. So now as long as none of the Oto nin did anything illegal, Konoha couldn't do anything to them even for harming their precious Uchiha, lest they lose business and risk offending their allies.

"Otokage-sama, am I correct in presuming that Suna will assist us in this strike against Konoha?" Kurenai asked.

The sannin nodded. "Yes. Kazekage-sama agreed once he heard that a team from Konoha had tried to kill Naruto and had kept Yondaime-sama's wife locked away like some sort of Patient Zero. Add that to what my old sensei tried to get him to do to Gaara years ago, and he's all in favor of knocking them down a couple pegs. However, Iwa will only provide back-up support outside the village and will keep any tracker nin from Konoha from being able to find us. I didn't discuss this with Taki because Jiraiya feels they would choose to remain neutral instead."

"So the plan is our genin teams go to Konoha with us supervising them, having them take the test, where we can't tell them exactly how to guarantee passing but making sure three genin in particular stay thru it to the end if necessary, and making the big move when almost all of Konoha's eyes are on the arena. Suna will assist us in the initial attack and Iwa will assist us in the event we have to leave or Konoha tries to get outside assistance. Am I right?" Anko asked.

Orochimaru smiled deviously. "I couldn't have said it better myself."

* * *

When Anko returned to her team she saw that Naruto was back along with Tayuya and Hanabi looked like she was trying to hang all over him, with Hinata cracking her knuckles for show. "Did I miss anything good?"

"Yeah, I'm going to be Naruto-kun's ninth wife." Hanabi happily exclaimed.

Anko looked like she just saw a snake with legs, then looked at Naruto. "I'm pretty sure that's illegal otouto."

"She's just top candidate for now Anko-sensei, so don't take it so literally." Hinata told the jounin.

Anko nodded slowly, but with a sinister expression. "Wow otouto, you actually managed to attract two sisters? Most guys would consider that lucky. And speaking of lucky, I've got good news for the three of you. How would you three feel about competing in the chuunin exams?"

"The real chuunin exams?" Isaribi asked.

Anko nodded. "Yes, not that skill evaluation thing we've done for the past decade here. The real deal. Something even I didn't get to do. In fact, you'll actually be the first genin from Oto to participate. Quite an honor if you ask me."

"Where is it this year?" Hinata asked.

"This is the bad news. It's in Konoha."

All three genin, and even Tayuya and Hanabi paled at hearing that. But then Naruto spoke up. "So now we can show Konoha just what they gave up and hit their pride where it hurts? I'm in. Maybe I can do more than just hurt that jerk."

Anko nodded. "Oh you'll definitely get to do more damage than that. I guarantee it. Because, once the exams are over, we're going to show the entire village how strong we are."

Tayuya was the only one who immediately understood what Anko was saying. "Ah, I'm guessing Operation Burning Leaf is a go?"

"Yes, it's time. We'll never have a better chance for it."

"What's Operation Burning Leaf?" Isaribi asked.

"It's a vengeance strike against Konoha." Anko answered. "As I'm sure you're already aware, this village was founded by people trying to escape the crimes of Konoha and Kiri, and the certain death that would have resulted in staying there in either. In fact, with the exception of Tayuya-san, each one of us right here was victimized by Konoha in some way. Naruto for containing a demon, myself for defending him, Hinata was neglected and beaten by the Hyuugas, Hanabi was likely to suffer the same fate, and Isaribi was a test subject for a scientist misusing Jiisan's funding. And Konoha's crimes are not limited to just that. It's time for us to get our pound of flesh from them. Are you three in?"

"I am. For what they did to Kaa-san's body and Tou-san's last wishes, I want to do something." Naruto answered.

Hinata nodded. "I'd like to seriously hurt those damn Hyuugas so I can truly feel apart from them."

Isaribi clapped her hands together once. "I'm not sure how useful I'd be, but I'm not going to be the only one who stays behind."

Anko grinned at her proteges. "Good, now remember to do your best. I'm still expecting you to qualify for chuunin at the same time."

Naruto replied with a wide smile and a thumbs up. "I'm definitely going to make chuunin. Believe it!"


	39. Humility

Ch. 39 Humility

Back in Konoha, one team of genin stood at a small bridge over a creek waiting for their sensei to show up. Kiba was keeping himself busy by sitting down and eating some breakfast with Akamaru. Sasuke leaned over the railing and looked down into the passing water while Sakura stood on the other side, wondering if she should approach him or not.

For Sasuke, the past few weeks had been a real eye opener. Even though the council had told him those harsh things, afterwards he still remained convinced that the population of the village would still treat him like some sort of celebrity.

Oh how wrong he was. How very, very wrong.

-Flashback-

Sasuke went grocery shopping and was carrying a basket full of milk, bread, meat both beef and poultry, and some apples and rice up to the check out counter. He quickly noticed that the cashier didn't give him the friendly smile he was used to seeing from the middle-aged woman. They took the food and rang up the total price. "That'll be 2270 ryo."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows. "Wait a minute, the last time I got this stuff I only had to pay 1000 ryo even."

"Yeah, that was back when you had status and connections kid."

Sasuke glared. "So you're raising the prices for me higher than others just because of some stupid technicality? You can lose your job for that."

The cashier didn't look the least bit intimidated. "No I can't, because you're not being discriminated against. You're paying just as much as everyone now, full price. Not the reduced prices I was ordered to give you by the council."

"Reduced prices?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah. Every store you've ever gone to has given you a lot of leeway on how much they charge you. Some of them even did it voluntarily, because they hoped when you came into power you'd repay their kindness. But now that we know you never will, we don't have to give you a discount anymore. So you're being charged just as much as everyone else, at least here if not everywhere. And it's completely legal for me to do so."

Sasuke growled low in the back of his throat. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the money, having enough but not expecting to use that much here. "Fine. I'm sure another store will treat an elite with the respect he deserves." He then left with his provisions.

-End flashback-

To his disappointment and shock, no other store gave him the low prices he was expecting. He had to go home earlier than intended because he didn't have enough money on hand to get all he wanted. When he looked over his new budget and costs, he found he would have to make some cutbacks in some areas until he could earn more.

'Dam, if only I still had access to the Uchiha account. Why should I be unable to get all I want? I'm an elite dammit.' He was still in denial about what the council told him, but it couldn't last much longer at this rate or he'd go insanely arrogant or arrogantly insane.

Another change that occurred however both bothered and pleased him. That was the lose of his fangirls, all but Sakura. While he was grateful that now they wouldn't hang all over him like flies, his ego took a hit at the fact that they no longer found him desirable. And it all started the day after the council's ruling against him.

-Flashback-

Sasuke was out training when a large number of his fangirls came up to him. "Sasuke-kun we heard you just got back from an A-ranked mission and faced against a missing nin and saved a whole country. You're so cool." One said with stars in her eyes, hers not the only ones like that.

Normally Sasuke would just ignore them, but he was down a bit from the council's cruel words so he needed a pick-me-up. "Thanks." He still wasn't much of a talker though.

Before the girls could continue flattering him, a new girl approach with a glare and clenched fists. This girl was Ino, and she looked pissed. "You've got a lot of nerve you smug son of a bitch!"

Everyone there gasped, even Sasuke. Ino was known to be one of his biggest supporters so why did she suddenly pull a 180 regarding him?

They didn't wonder for long. "So we're nothing but 'stupid brainless bitches' are we? You heartless piece of shit!"

"What are you talking about?" A light purple-haired fangirl named Ami asked in disbelief.

Ino gave her and the others cold glances, still angry but not necessarily at them. "Didn't you hear. Apparently that smug SOB lost his rights to his clans and thought that he could use us to get them back. He even said we're a bunch of whiny-ass bimbos who don't have any other use to him. He doesn't give a damn about us and never did."

The girls gasped. "That can't be true."

"I didn't want to believe it either, but Otou-san showed my the memory himself. This jerk here only cares about himself and wouldn't look our way unless he can profit from it. Heck I doubt he even knows a single one of our names." Ino replied.

All the girls turned to the Uchiha, hoping he could prove the Yamanaka heiress wrong. The fact that he remained silent only made them more worried. Ami then looked back at Ino. "You can't be serious."

Ino crossed her arms. "I'm more than willing and able to prove it. Come with me and see for yourself."

Needless to say Ami and all the others did, wanting to know for themselves. Luckily Inoichi had some free time so he did a memory-sharing jutsu that he used on Ino to let them all see what Sasuke said at the last meeting like he showed his daughter. As a result, all the fangirls wanted nothing less than to inflict some sort of bodily harm on the boy they had been crazy about before.

-End flashback-

So not only did Sasuke lose his social standing in the marketplace, he lost it amongst his own generation. Now even Kiba was a more eligible bachelor than he was. Only two things so far had remained constant, Sakura's affections and the mystery gifts he got on his doorstep at random times from someone he still could not identify. Most likely not Sakura because she barely had the skill or desire to do something for him without being noticed.

He sighed, his thoughts swirling around in his head. 'The council no longer respects me, the shops no longer recognize my worth, and the girls are throwing a childish tantrum. What's wrong with everyone? Don't they realize I am the one Uchiha here and I need power to kill Itachi? Why does no one see that anymore? What they're doing is only slowing me down when I need to be getting stronger so I can go kill him and those music note nin that took my power from me in the first place.' Because of his denial, he didn't want to think that maybe he deserved the treatment he was getting. Or that nobody cared about his personal agenda now.

Meanwhile, Sakura watched him from behind wondering what to do about the boy she obsessed over. She saw how bothered he was at everything he took for granted suddenly disappearing from his grasp. She didn't know what she could offer him besides her consolation, but she wasn't sure if she even could now. Not after what she had been told.

-Flashback-

"Sakura, we need to talk." Natsumi told the young girl once she got home after the council meeting.

Natsumi Haruno was actually Sakura's aunt on her father's side and a council member for the civilians, who worked as a librarian in her non-council time. Both of Sakura's parents were clanless shinobi that died in battle against the kyuubi years ago, which meant Natsumi became her legal guardian at a very young age. Unlike her brother and sister-in-law, Natsumi did not have the courage or desire to be a ninja and never even attended the ninja academy.

However, she did notice that shinobi clans had the best lifestyles and bank accounts in the village and always wanted to join in on their luxury despite her low status and non-ninja lifestyle. So Natsumi at a young age tried the one way she saw available to her: marry into a clan and use their benefits as her own. Problem is that's easier said than done and ninja aren't that easy to fool. She had tried to form a subtle parasite relationship with Hiashi Hyuuga, Fugaku Uchiha, Inoichi Yamanaka, and even Minato Namikaze, all without success.

"What about, Obasan?" Sakura asked.

"It's about the young Uchiha." Her aunt started. "It appears he now has no access to his clan fortune or status in this village. So now there's no point in you pursuing him anymore."

Sakura's eyes widened. "What do you mean? I love Sasuke-kun. Why would I stop pursuing him?"

"Because we... _you_ have nothing to gain from him anymore. He'll have to work for wealth now and can't give you any children in the future. You'd be better off trying to catch the interest of someone else now, like your other teammate."

Sakura looked disgusted. "Kiba-baka? No way. I love Sasuke-kun and I'm not ditching him because of some little problem just like that."

"It would be smarter if you did. After all, there are other fish in the sea."

Sakura looked confused. "But all these years you've told me Sasuke-kun is the only guy in the country worth my attention and affection. Why the sudden change? It makes no sense Obasan."

"Because beforehand if you had gotten his eye you and I would have a better nest egg to rely on and not worry about our budget and have more authority in this village. But with his new handicap you won't get anything of the sort from him. So I'm telling you to give up on him since he's just an empty wallet now and go for some boy with better resources now so he can take care of us." Natsumi said rather plainly.

Sakura was having a hard time processing this. "But... but you always said-"

"I know what I said. Listen to what I'm saying now. There's no point in pursuing the Uchiha now so find someone else with money and status."

Sakura looked ready to faint. "But... but I love Sasuke-kun. I won't leave him for someone richer."

"You better. How else are we going to have a better life?"

"I know I can have a good life with Sasuke-kun when we get married. Maybe it won't be as luxurious as before, but it will be worth it as long as I'm with him." Sakura told her aunt.

Natsumi scoffed. "Bullshit. A man who can't provide for and spoil a woman isn't a man of any worth so just ditch him and look for one that can. That's that."

-End flashback-

As a result, Sakura didn't know what to do. She still cared for Sasuke, but now her aunt, the same one who encouraged her to take an interest in him in the first place, told her to give up and find someone she deemed more profitable. She didn't want to stop trying to earn his affections, but at the same time she didn't want her aunt upset at her. Those two and their ideas were pretty much the foundation of her entire thought process, and to feel split between the two was giving her a headache.

Kiba meanwhile was ignoring the whole situation. His only thoughts on the matter were simple and selfish. 'Heh, now that Mr. High-and-Mighty is a nobody, now some of the girls will look my way. It will be nice to have some girls treat me as top dog rather than put me down like Neesan does and Okaa-san too sometimes.'

Kakashi came up to them and waved. "Hey team."

"You're late again." Sakura said irritably, but strangely much quieter than normal.

"I know, but it was because I got something for you three." The cycloptic jounin said as he pulled out three papers. "I got you three nominations to take place in the upcoming chuunin exams. If you feel ready for it then sign these and I'll turn them in."

"The chuunin exams? Hell yeah! The perfect chance to show off my skills to everyone!" Kiba said excitedly as he eagerly took one of the forms being offered.

"You might want to work on your subtlety Kiba." Kakashi told him. "After all, good ninja don't go showing off."

"But girls like tough guys." The Inuzuka countered confidently, signing the paper without even looking it over fully.

Kakashi sighed, then faced his other students. "What about you two? The whole team has to agree or no one participates."

Sasuke gave his teacher a curious yet annoyed look. "Is there a chance those assholes we saw in Wave will be here for it?"

Kakashi shrugged. "I guess it's possible, but you'll only be legally allowed to do anything about them if you participate in the exams. Otherwise you'd be arrested for a long time as an international threat to others."

"Can you guarantee they'll be there?" Sasuke asked.

"No, I can't. You'll just have to see for yourself."

Sasuke closed his eyes and thought it over. 'I've got to take this chance. And even if they don't show up, I can prove to all the idiots here that even without my sharingan I'm still a superior ninja.' He opened his eyes and held out his hand. "I'll accept."

Sakura predictably joined in on his actions. "Me too." 'This way Obasan can't complain about me being close to him and when he becomes chuunin maybe she'll see how great he is for me.'

Kakashi handed them all their entry forms. "Remember guys, this won't be don't go thinking this is like the tests you took back in the academy. Your life will be on the line here and you'll face people who'll have no reason to go easy on you whatsoever."

The looks in Sasuke's and Kiba's eyes said they were confident in their skills to win. Maybe a bit too confident. While Sakura's eyes showed less confidence and more of hope for the Uchiha beside her.

'I sure hope you know what you're getting into.' Kakashi thought. 'But then again, I am using this as an eye opener for you three. Maybe afterwards you'll think with your brains rather than your egos or fantasies.'


	40. Entry

Ch. 40 Entry

Sakura and Kiba were walking down the street a week later wondering about the chuunin exams that would start tomorrow. Kiba looked forward to the parts where he could show off his skills to everyone, hoping it would attract the girls and humble the other boys. Sakura however was starting to worry about how well she'd do, considering she was the weakest member of her team. At first, she thought Sasuke would be able to keep her safe, but how could she seriously expect to get thru the test if she had to be dependent on someone else to cover for her? That surely wasn't what the higher-ups were looking for in a chuunin.

"This test is going to be a piece of cake, ain't it Sakura?" Kiba asked to start some sort of conversation between the two as they looked for Kakashi and Sasuke for additional last-minute training.

"I wouldn't say that Kiba. Remember it's not going to be like the kind we used to take." She said.

"Yeah, this time we'll do more fighting than paperwork." The Inuzuka replied, making Sakura sigh silently in frustration.

"Hey let go of me!" A young boy's voice cried out from the street right of them, drawing both of their attentions.

They saw a young man they never saw before wearing something that made him look like a black cat holding a brown-haired boy by his collar and the long green scarf around it. The older boy wore decorative war paint on his face and a wrapped-up bundle on his back about as big as he was. From this distance they could see a metal plate on his head cover but they couldn't see the symbol etched on it. There was also a boy with glasses and an orange-haired girl the same age as the other boy telling the other guy to let their friend go.

"You should have watched where you were going runt." The black-clad boy told the kid.

"HEY! LET THAT KID GO RIGHT NOW YOU CREEP!" Sakura screamed as she stormed up to the newcomer. When she got close enough she saw the Suna emblem on his hitai-ate.

A blonde woman with four short tuffs of hair tied in the back came into sight as if by shushin behind the black-clad shinobi. She wore a light purple battle-dress that covered everything between her shoulders and thighs with a red sash as a belt. She also wore fishnet mesh across her shoulders and for some reason on her right calf and left thigh. She wore a scarf-like hitai-ate around her neck with the Suna symbol as well and carried a long metal object on her back the two Konoha genin couldn't identify.

"Kankuro, stop that. Don't draw attention to yourself." She told him sternly.

"But Temari, I'm just teaching this kid a lesson." He argued.

"Just don't, okay? Save your energy for tomorrow."

"HEY! DID YOU HEAR ME?" Sakura screamed again, ready to hit if the kid wasn't still being held captive.

"Of course we did. They probably heard you in Kiri." Kankuro told her.

"What are a bunch of Suna nin doing here?" Kiba asked as he approached.

Temari hit Kankuro's hands, making him drop the young boy. "You better run off before he decided to finish what he started kid." The young boy nodded and ran off with his two friends. Temari then looked at the two Konoha nin. "Why do you think we're here? We came for the chuunin exams."

"But those start tomorrow. Why are you here today?" Kiba asked.

"Why would we wait for the last minute?" Kankuro asked back.

"Yeah, other teams are on their way right now too and they should all get here by nightfall. We're just lucky enough to get here first." Temari added.

'Other teams huh?' Sakura thought curiously. "Did either of you happen to see anybody wearing hitai-ates with a music note on them?"

Temari and Kankuro exchanged looks, careful to make it look like they were trying to remember something. "No, nothing like that comes to mind. Why?"

"Because those guys are horrible thugs that deserve the death penalty ten times." The pinkette said venomously.

The Suna nin's eyes' widened in surprise. "What did they do?" Temari asked as if offended by the claim.

"They hurt someone from our village." Sakura answered hostilely, not wanting to admit it was Sasuke to someone they may have to fight later and could use his weakness to their advantage.

Temari and Kankuro arched an eyebrow each. "Unless it's your kage, how does that justify the death penalty?" Kankuro asked.

"Just ignore her." Kiba butted in. "As far as she's concerned this guy is bigger than all the kages in the history of the continent put together." Sakura gave him a dirty look for the implied put-down, but he ignored it. "But he's just overrated. Me on the other hand, now I'm a guy with real strength."

Kankuro looked him right in the eye. "Care to prove it hotshot?" He then reached for one of the straps holding his concealed puppet on his back.

"Kankuro, what are you thinking? You can't use the karasu here." Temari warned.

"I'll just be a moment. Think of it as practice for later nee-san." He said.

"Kankuro." A creepy voice called out, attracting everyone's attention to the branch of a nearby tree. There stood another Suna nin with short red hair, dark brown clothes, and a large gourd strapped onto his back. It looked like it should have thrown his balance off but he looked like it didn't inconvenience him in any way. (AN: In this fic he doesn't have Ai on his forehead as he wasn't traumatized by the Yashamaru incident thanks to Tsunade and Naruto. And his seal was improved so he's not homicidal and insomniac because of the Ichibi.) "Don't reveal your trump card right away. You will need it for later."

The black-clad shinobi relented. "Fine Gaara. If you say so."

"Who the heck are you?" Kiba asked. 'Weird, he smells like sand and raccoon, and looks like someone who's not afraid to get blood on his hands.'

"None of your business." was the cold reply.

"Hey Gaara, did you and Baki-sensei find a hotel?" Temari asked.

The raccoon-eyed Suna nin nodded, then quickly raised his right hand to catch a pebble that had been thrown at him from behind. He turned his head to see Sasuke standing behind him condescendingly in the tree. "Nice try, but you're far from my level."

Sasuke scoffed. "Do you know who I am?"

"No and I do not care." Gaara plainly replied.

"I am Sasuke Uchiha, the single best genin in all of Land of Fire, and you will respect me."

Gaara looked away. "I respect only a select few, and you do not deserve to be one of them." He then jumped out of the tree. "Neesan, Niisan, let's go. The others will be here soon."

The trio of Suna nin started walking off. Sasuke, fuming at being ignored, jumped down as well. "Tell me your name."

Gaara turned to look at him again. "I am Gaara Subaku."

"Then I hope to face against you shortly, Gaara." Sasuke declared.

"Likewise. My ally needs some blood."

Sakura paled then glowered. "You dare threaten to kill Sasuke-kun? You heartless bastard! I'll get you kicked out of town for-"

"Shut up or I'll kill you." He said dangerously low with a hardened look at the kunoichi, making the air actually feel cold around her. She stopped her rant, much to everyone's relief. "That was your one warning."

"You better be careful girl. My brother doesn't make idle threats." Temari told her fellow kunoichi.

With that, the three disappeared in a sand shushin.

Sasuke put his hands in his pockets. 'Hmm... something about that guy is dangerous and powerful. I must know what it is and how to take it for myself.'

"Sasuke-kun you were so cool facing those creeps like that." Sakura said. As always he ignored her and walked away. She followed, and Kiba did too simply because he thought he might find his sensei too and get some training like he intended to before this happened.

* * *

"Okay team, here's where things get tough. You ready?" Anko asked as all three Oto teams approached the main gates of Konoha.

"Not really, but if we were afraid of risks we wouldn't be ninja in the first place would we?" Hinata asked.

"Think we can last long enough to make it to the finals before anyone notices us?" Naruto asked.

"Not sure. But if Konoha tries anything underhanded, like framing us just so they have an excuse to put us behind bars, then Kazekage-sama can back us up. I bet even Tsuchikage-sama would too if they went that far." Kabuto added.

"Yeah. Konoha won't want to risk offending their 'ally' Suna or their 'enemy' Iwa." Kurenai added with a nod. "But still, don't add fuel to the fire." All of the genin nodded.

In no time they got up to the gate. Izumo and Kotetsu were standing guard as was their routine. "Welcome to Konoha. Are you hear for the chuunin exams?"

Kabuto nodded. "Yes, we're here on behalf of Kazekage-sama, who was nice enough to nominate our meager village for this great honor."

'Smooth Kabuto-kun.' Anko and Kurenai thought.

Izumo saw the symbol on their hitai-ates. "I've never seen that one before. Where do you hail from?"

"A rather small and new village called Otogakure. This is our first chance to be noticed by the world." Kurenai answered humbly.

"And Kazekage-sama invited you to participate?" Kotestu asked.

Anko nodded. "Yes. He was rather insistent that we get a chance to see how tough we really are. And while we may not be as strong as Konoha, I feel we may do decently."

Izumo handed them a clipboard with the standard legal entry form on it for all guests into hidden villages. "Just sign here and find yourself somewhere to lodge tonight. Participating genin are required to be at the Konoha Academy Room 301 at 8:00 AM sharp."

"You got that team?" Anko asked as she took the clipboard. They all nodded, and soon each Oto nin signed in. They gladly noticed that their Suna friends were already here as planned. Anko and Naruto had to use their fake surname Urashi and Kurenai had to use a fake one as well Hiyuu in case anyone recognized her family name from years before. Kabuto and the others were a safer bet so they used their regular names. Of course Hinata used the name Hibiki as she never used the name Hyuuga and never intended to.

As part of their cover some of them were disguised physically too. Naruto had make-up to cover his whisker marks and dyed his hair brown, making the connection to his father that much harder to see. He wasn't wearing an orange-and-black jumpsuit right now, but he did bring it along for later on. Right now he wore a forest green jacket over a black shirt and navy blue pants. Hinata wore blue contacts that made it look like she had a normal set of blue eyes and a red version of her normal jacket. Kurenai also wore a set of brown contacts to cover her red eyes, in case anyone noticed them. But overall, the jounin would be the hardest to identify by appearance alone so they didn't change themselves that much. Kabuto and his genin didn't change their appearance at all and Anko wore her hair down in a low ponytail. The others from Oto looked their normal selves.

"Oka,y you're all set. Enjoy our village and try to stay out of trouble." Izumo told them with a friendly tone and smile.

"Don't worry, we intend to. We wouldn't want to risk upsetting the strongest of all the villages after all." Kurenai replied. 'Ugh I suddenly feel so dirty.' They then left the guards before the conversation had to continue any further.

* * *

That night all the chuunin hopefuls were now in Konoha and in their hotel rooms or campsites in the forests. The three Oto teams quickly hooked up with Baki's team before anyone else from Konoha saw them. Right now all four teams were in the hotel room the Suna nin checked out for now. "Any trouble yet?" Baki asked the others.

"So far now. But we did just start out so we shouldn't drop our guard." Kurenai answered.

"What are you guys going to do while we're being tested?" Sasame asked.

"Hard to say. We can't just go around the village or we'll look suspicious as if we're planning something." Anko stated. "Maybe we'll go find a nice dango bar to hang out in."

Kabuto gave her an 'Are you serious?' look. "You are aware that the second round can take several days most times, right?"

Anko just shrugged. "Several days in a dango shop? You make that sound like a bad thing Kabuto-kun."

He snorted in resignation. "Yeah, I forgot who I was talking to for a moment."

"In any case don't worry about us. Worry about yourself and your upcoming opponents." Kurenai told all the genin. She then looked at Baki. "I hope you don't mind, but since we're likely to get in hot water with Konoha would it be okay for us to crash here with you four?"

The veiled Suna jounin nodded. "Yes that would be wise. If Konoha is likely to do as you suspect then having us as witnesses will ruin the credibility of their claims. So for the night at least one person from my team, myself included, will have to stand guard with someone from your teams. That way, no matter what and when there will be at least one Suna witness to it."

The Oto jounin nodded. If someone as close to the Yondaime Kazekage as this team challenged any anti-Oto reports Konoha might make, it would look bad for Konoha to ignore or defame them, lest they incur the wrath of the kazekage.

"In that case, let's get some sleep. Big day tomorrow after all you nine." Anko told them.

"I'll take first watch, if Naruto-kun keeps me company." Temari said with a warm look at the disguised blonde.

"Umm..." He started to say, unsure how to finish.

"That's okay with me." Hinata said. "You two haven't had the chance to talk in person for months. Go right ahead."

Anko eyed the byakugan user curiously. 'Just who is really in charge of their harem, her or otouto?'

With little fuss, everyone in the room save two ninja soon were asleep and waiting for tomorrow, the first day of the chuunin exams.


	41. Cheating

Ch. 41 Cheating

The Oto and Suna were fortunate to not be disturbed their first night in Konoha. Their hotel did have several Anbu watching over it, but in all fairness their hotel wasn't the only one so it was considered just normal protocol. They got up early and headed towards the Konoha Academy. They only knew where it was thanks to Gaara looking for it yesterday while his siblings were busy. Then again the gathering crowd of genin helped them too.

Naruto looked over the building for a moment. 'Looks like a decent place. To think I might have learned how to be a ninja here instead of Oto had Jiisan not taken me out of this hellhole. Then again from what I've been told I doubt I would have learned much if anything if I had attended this place.'

"Which room do we go to again?" Zaku asked. All four teams had gone together with the whole 'safety in numbers' prinicple in mind. And they all still wore the same outfits and disguises they wore coming into the village. For better odds in their favor, they went there ten minutes ahead of time.

"301 according to the gatekeepers." Kin told him.

"Shouldn't be that hard to find." Hinata said.

"Let's go in then." Naruto told them with his trademark grin.

They opened the door and saw several genin already trying to find the room they needed to go to. Apparently they weren't the only ones who wanted an early start. Kankuro then spoke into his remote communicator that was tuned into all of them at the moment. It had two other frequencies one was for personal teams, and the other to contain the jounin in case of severe trouble. "Hey, if these guys can't find the place to go, I guess we barely have any competition."

Temari responded. "Or maybe there are diversions set up as part of the test. Think about it, if you can't even find where you're supposed to go then why would you deserve to be chuunin?"

"Good point Temari-chan. So we should keep our eyes open for tricks but not remove any of them. Don't want to increase the competition after all." Naruto said.

They walked down the hall and saw the numbers above the room. 101, 102, 103, etc. "Looks like we may have to go to the third floor." Gaara thought out loud.

"I think so. Have you guys noticed that no actual Leaf genin are on this floor? They all would know exactly where to go so everyone down here is from out of town and searching the hard way, like we just did." Sasame pointed out.

"Hey, do you guys hear something?" Isaribi asked them, looking towards her right.

Everyone strained their ears. "Sounds like a fight. Guess someone couldn't wait." Dosu commented.

"Should we go take a look? Just for the hell of it?" Fuu asked.

Naruto shrugged. "Naw. I'd like to find the room and just get there personally."

"Same here." Hinata agreed.

"I'm going to go take a quick look. I won't be long." Fuu said then walked away.

"We should follow her Haku. It's probably not a good idea for our teams to be split here." Sasame told her teammate.

Haku nodded. "Good point." She then turned to the rest of their group. "We'll meet up with you guys in a moment."

"Let's go find the room. I'll send a clone for them when we find it." Naruto told everyone else when Sasame and Haku wandered off.

"There's some stairs that's a good start." Kankuro said, stating the obvious.

The nine ninja went up to the second floor. Before they could keep going up, they noticed a small crowd down the hallway. "It looks like a crowd of genin trying to get into a room but someone won't let them." Zaku said.

"Why would they do that here? This is the second floor, not the third." Temari asked.

"Must be a trick. But if you ask me, anyone dumb enough to fall for that is too dumb to be even genin." Isaribi commented.

The others nodded and just continued on up the stairs. They saw no point in getting involved in the commotion. Before they got to the next floor, Naruto created a shadow clone in case anyone on the third floor would be there to see him do it, and had the clone hide with a henge that made it blend in with the wall. The original would signal later for it to go find the others and lead them to the correct room.

At the third floor they went down the hallway and reached a room marked 301. In front of it was a Konoha ninja awaiting them, which happened to be a young man with a strange burn-like scar covering a good portion of his left face under his eye. "Hi, I'm Raido Namiashi. Judging from the fact that there are nine of you, I take it that means you're actually three complete teams that just came here at the same time?" They nodded. "Good. My job is to ensure that only complete teams come here. Any incomplete teams are prohibited from advancing past this point, as it shows no teamwork skills needed for a proper chuunin."

"Makes sense." Zaku commented.

Raido nodded and handed each of them a small piece of paper. "Go on in. Seating will be assigned so don't bother getting comfortable with each other. And try not to draw attention to yourselves."

The genin opened the door and entered the room. It was crowded with several shinobi of various origins, the most notable places being Konoha, Iwa, Kusa, Taki, Ame, Kumo, and Kiri. Most of them gave the newcomers the evil eye in an effort to size them up for future competition. Hinata gave the Kumo nin cautious glances.

"How exactly do we know where we're going to sit?" Hinata asked Naruto.

He pulled out the paper Raido gave him and saw the number 52 on it. "I guess that's my seat. Which one's yours?"

Hinata checked her own. "27."

"Looks like we won't... oh, my clone just dispelled so the others are on their way here. And I think my clone saw a guy wearing green spandex." Naruto replied.

Hinata arched an eyebrow. "Seriously?" He nodded. "Weird. Well, good luck Naru-kun."

"You too Hina-chan." They refrained from kissing or holding hands to avoid revealing to any threats that they were closer than comrades.

All the Oto and Suna genin checked their numbers and took their assigned seats. They all sat apart from each other, but Temari sat directly behind Kankuro and Sasame sat at Naruto's right. Outside that each one of the rest of them were at least one person apart in any direction. They quickly realized this was part of the test to ensure they all couldn't communicate with each other conveniently.

The door behind them opened and they checked to see who was entering. It wasn't Haku, Fuu, and Sasame, but a trio of Konoha ninja they didn't recognize. One had brown hair and wore what looked like a trench coat with a high collar, the other had black hair and pale skin almost making him look like a relative of Orochimaru, and the female member had long brown hair with a purple-white-and-red dress and a cautious expression.

After them came another trio of Konoha ninja. One had brown hair in a pineapple-style much like Anko and a grey shirt with a bored expression. Another was a little on the heavyset side with red hair and an open green shirt over a white one. The female member was a pretty blonde wearing purple clothes that Anko would probably have worn when younger along with cloth warmers on her forearms and calves.

After them the last team from Oto came in and immediately seeked their seats. The Konoha genin apparently all chose to stand around and wait for something to happen rather than get ready for the test to start. A minute later another Konoha team entered. One of them was clearly a Hyuuga from his eyes and he looked at everyone like they weren't worth breathing towards. His male teammate was the green spandex wearer Naruto warned Hinata about, and his female teammate showed nothing special about herself making her all the more necessary to keep an eye on later. This team did decide to take their assigned seats right away. The kunoichi member stretched her arms above her head as she walked towards her spot two seats left of Kin and if anyone looked at her they would have seen her toss some small mirrors onto the ceiling that stuck in place with wires attached.

Finally, the last Konoha team entered, and it was the one Oto encountered in Wave. They looked no different than before, except that Sasuke stood less rigid and Sakura wasn't trying to smother him with close contact. The Oto shinobi made a point to not look at them to avoid being recognized right away. So far it worked, and the interaction the other Konoha teams did with this team made it harder for Sasuke, Sakura, and Kiba to spot anyone in the room.

A puff of smoke appeared in the front of the room and a man wearing a dark blue overcoat and a bandanna of the same color showed up. A few scars were visible on his face, making him look like a seasoned veteran. "ALRIGHT, EVERYONE TAKE A SEAT RIGHT AWAY!" He shouted, capturing everyone's attentions and making them all obey. Hinata was not satisfied to see Sakura right at her left, but at least she was the only one in their 12 man group close to their main threats.

"Welcome to the Chuunin Exams. May Kami have mercy on you all." The trenchcoat man said with a chuckle, making some of the attendees nervous. "My name is Ibiki Morino and I'm going to be in charge of the first section of the Chuunin Exam."

"First part?" A Kusa nin asked.

"Of course. Did you really think that the evaluation process for becoming a chuunin would be done with one test? Not even the genin test in the smallest hidden village is that easy." Ibiki answered, then returned his focus to the others. "As I was saying, for those of you that are first-timers, we will test you for the various skills a chuunin must possess in various ways, and we do that in three ways. This first test will be done here with a one-hour time limit."

With that two doors to either side of Ibiki opened and about twenty chuunin from Konoha entered, each holding papers and a clipboard. "These assistants of mine here will give you the tests. Under NO circumstances is ANYONE allowed to start before I give permission or they and their entire team will fail. So while you're waiting to start, allow me to explain the rules of this test."

The chuunin began passing the tests and pencils out all at once to get it done quickly while Ibiki explained the situation. "This will be different than other tests you've taken. For one thing, instead of starting with zero points and gaining more with each correct answer, you all will start out with perfect scores of ten and will lose a point for each wrong answer you write down. This test will have ten questions total and you will have one hour to finish it. However, only nine questions are written down while the tenth question will be oral and have a few separate stipulations with it. At ten minutes before the hour is up, those remaining in the test will have the opportunity to hear more."

The chuunin finished handing out the tests and took seats at the chairs that were aligned against the walls of the room. "And don't let me or anyone here catch anyone cheating. These men and women will remain here with me to keep an eye on you to monitor your progress and try to catch any cheaters. If you are caught cheating you automatically lose two points off your total score right away, and if you're caught five times, well if you can't do the math let's just say you'll be at zero and instantly disqualified. And your teammates will be forced to leave the test with you regardless of their own scores."

All the genin in the room absorbed these instructions and prepared themselves for this. Ibiki eyed them all and saw some but not a lot were uncertain about their skills in getting far. "Is that clear?" There were no objections. "You may begin... now!"

Everyone turned over their sheet of paper and started reading the first question.

* * *

Meanwhile, Anko, Kurenai, and Kabuto were relaxing in a dango shop in Konoha enjoying a snack while their students took their tests. Anko was predictably eating the most. "Y'know, I actually kind of envy these kids. Getting to take the real test we couldn't." She said with her mouth full then swallowed.

"I don't know if you should." Kabuto warned. "I looked into the tests this year as a precaution, and apparently Konoha's top interrogator is leading the first part."

"So? Why would I care?" Anko, being Oto's top interrogator after Orochimaru himself, wasn't an easily intimidated person. Kurenai meanwhile didn't look too intimidated either as she casually drank some green tea.

Kabuto rested his chin on his clasped hands. "Anko-chan, let's just say that from what I've heard from our trusted sources, that if you hadn't studied under Otokage-sama, you would have loved to have been this guy's pupil instead."

Anko looked a bit impressed. "Not bad, but no big deal. I'm sure our guys can handle it. I mean, it's not like the first test actually hurts them right?"

"Anko-chan, you of all people should know just what an expert in the T&I field can do to mess with people. Even without actually shedding blood." Kurenai stated.

The purple-haired woman shrugged. "You got a point. Either way, I have faith in them all." She then took another bite of dango. "We didn't come this far to chicken out when the first tough guy showed up did we?"

* * *

Time went by for the test-takers, and within the first five minutes almost all the genin realized the true point of the test. The Oto and Suna genin came to the correct conclusion individually when they saw how difficult the questions were and noted that they were all carefully yet randomly seated apart from each other to make direct contact with each other all the more difficult.

They all thought it their own way, but the overall summary of their thought process was like this: 'These questions look like the type only someone who's already an experienced chuunin or jounin could answer easily. I don't think it's possible for anyone to answer these without cheating. ...Maybe that's the point, since the guy did say we'd only get punished if we were caught cheating multiple times. Think of it like spying on a target, if you're sloppy you ruin the mission but if you're stealthy enough to get away with it you can do the rest of the job when the opportunity comes.'

With that, the genin started cheating in their own ways. Gaara made a hovering eye out of sand to let him see the answers already written down and used some more of his sand to silently tell Kankuro and Temari what he found out. Kankuro had carefully gotten his Crow puppet mobile and disguised as an extra test monitor early on who was checking on the tests for correct answers, which he'd get from the puppet later. His left hand was under the table moving the puppet while his right hand was writing what he could already answer. Hinata activated her byakugan but had to apply a genjutsu first to cover the telltale bulging veins. Haku used some movable ice mirrors much like Tenten was doing to see the answers and allow her teammates to as well. Kin used a minor genjutsu to make the tests next to her replicate only to her own eyes so they'd appear in her sight allowing her to read them without having to glance over the genin's shoulder to do so. Naruto activated his Ghost Body kekkei genkai, unnoticeable thanks to his dyed hair which showed no white coloring, and made some invisible clones to check out the answers and dispel, giving him the answers right away. Some of his clones whispered in his teammate's and comrade's ears too. Dosu tapped his pencil on the desk in Morse code to give the answers to anyone able to figure out his message.

Several teams were disqualified as time went on but none of the most notable ones. Kankuro asked for a bathroom break and his disguised Crow was the one who handcuffed him and led him away for the sake of 'keeping him cooperative'. In the meantime he got all the remaining answers from his puppet and made a copy of them to give to Temari. Neji used his doujutsu to find the answers from the other genin while Sasuke carefully glanced at his neighbor's work without his sharingan to aide him. Kiba had Akamaru glance at the other tests from atop his head and tell him the answers in barks. Shino had his insects fly over the room one or two at a time and report back to him. Shikamaru answered as many as he could on his own and used his shadow possession jutsu to make Chouji mimic his movements. Sakura just worked on figuring the answers on her own, somewhat oblivious to the test's true purpose, and Ino took over her body briefly to see the answers.

"Alright, pencils down." Ibiki told everyone."Now, it's time to explain the rules for the tenth question. Listen carefully as I will only say this once." The interrogator's eyes scanned the room as if daring anyone to interrupt, pausing briefly longer than normal to stare at the Oto nin. "This rule is the most important one of the test. If anyone gets it wrong, then they automatically fail despite the score they already earned. And those that fail will be prohibited from ever being advanced anything higher ranked than a genin for the rest of their lives."

Many people gasped. "You can't do that. Others have taken the test before and keep trying." One of the Taki nin shouted out.

"Too bad for you, because I wasn't in charge of the test those times. This time I am, and what I say goes. Get the tenth question wrong and you'll remain a genin forever. Get it right and you move on to the next round. However... all of you may choose to not answer the question."

"What?" Kin asked in confusion.

"It's simple. If you feel that your careers are too important to risk, you may choose to sit the tenth question out. If you do, you withdraw from the chuunin exams but are allowed to take them again another time. Maybe then you'll get a more merciful person than me. So if anyone wants to leave now, raise your hand, then you... and your entire team, will be told to leave. Anyone who wants to stay and risk not only their futures, but those of their teammates, keep your hands down." Ibiki answered, adding some KI to unnerve the genins a little while he was at it.

Everyone in the room turned their heads to glance at their teammates, as if silently asking themselves what to do. Many of them weren't too confident in their ability to succeed here so they volunteered to leave while they still could. Some looked nervous but remained in their seats. Naruto surprised everyone he knew by looking like he was raising his hand, only to slam his fist loudly on his desk.

"You think I came all this way and did all those missions for the right to take this test, just to hightail it when someone decides to play mind tricks with me? You're not the first one who's tried to intimidate me and you're certainly not the best! Go ahead and give me this risky tenth question! If I wasn't willing to take risks then I wouldn't be trying to become a chuunin in the first place!"

Ibiki glared back at the disguised jinchuuriki, but his peripheral vision told him that the other genin were steeling their nerves back up. Apparently his little outburst reminded them of the courage they needed to have on the job, the courage that Ibiki had been hoping to erode just now. "You better watch your mouth punk. You may have guts, but do your teammates?" He saw two girls cross their arms in response, giving him his answer. "Anybody else wish to press their luck and risk everything?"

No one dared to say they were going to drop out. Ibiki took a deep breath. "In that case I have no choice. You all... pass."

There was a brief pause, until a genin spoke up in disbelief. "What the hell do you mean?"

"What do you think I mean? I said you all passed."

"But... what about the tenth question?" Sakura asked.

"The tenth question was whether or not you were willing to take it." Ibiki told them, seeing most of them didn't get it yet. "Like the loudmoth here mentioned in his rant, a ninja's life is full of risk. And when you're on missions, you will have to take risks and make decisions that will affect you and your team. Decisions that can get the job done, or get you all hurt badly. If you're too afraid to take those risks, then you're not fit to take this test."

"This exam is designed to do more than just test your combat skills. What we're doing is testing all your talents as a shinobi. What we were testing just now is your ability to gather information with minimal risk." Ibiki continued before taking off his headband and exposing his many scars. "Information is one of the most important things a shinobi needs to do his job, and getting that information is often just as important to the job. Collecting needed information without getting exposed is an important skill for a chuunin. That's why we arranged this test the way we did. It was meant to simulate a mission where you all had to answer the questions, which could only be answered by cheating. My assistants here would pose as lookouts keeping an eye out for those careless enough to get caught. Getting caught is the worse thing a ninja can do on the job, aside from betrayal. "

The scarred man saw that the genin were now understanding his words. "Of course, in order for any of you to cheat you needed something to cheat from, a source of information to gather from. So we can two chuunin hid here to answer the questions." The aforementioned plants made small waving motions with their hands to indicate who they were. "Anyone who could make it to the tenth question showed they were careful enough to cheat without getting caught or exposing their teammates in the process. Then we issued the tenth question, where we saw your faith in yourself and your comrades to continue the mission even if it meant risking failure. So far, you've all done a good job. And now, you're ready for the second part of the exam."


	42. Dangerous

__

Several reviewers have pointed out that I mistakenly wrote that Sasuke had his sharingan working last chapter. That was a typo on my part and I've gone back and edited that part. For now, Sasuke still cannot use it and won't anytime soon. And for those bothered by how close to canon the last chapter was, rest assured the rest of the exam won't be.

To those that complain about any grammatical errors in my stories, this or any other, I'm going to be honest with you all. I have a mild form of dyslexia (why is that word hard to spell?) so even after spellcheck and rereading over my chapters, some typos may still get thru. I'm sorry but I can't help it. Also, 'thru' is spelled that way on purpose for me because that's harder to misspell and where I live people like to use it when there's no professional obligation.

Ch. 42 Dangerous

"And now, you're ready for the second part of the exam." Ibiki told all the genin who managed to get thru the first test.

One of the doors all of Ibiki's assistants had used to enter the room opened, and a young woman entered. She had long straight purple hair that reached to her waist and brown eyes. She wore standard Konoha jounin attire but her vest was grey and her arms were exposed except for the metal guards on her forearms, revealing an Anbu tattoo on her right shoulder. On her back was a sheathed katana, indicating she must have some kenjutsu training. She stood next to Ibiki and placed her left hand on her hip as she looked over the crowd.

"My, there's a lot more than I expected here. Did you actually go easy on them Ibiki?" She asked.

"You doubt my skills? We just got a tough bunch this year."

"Sure, if you say so." She said as if she didn't buy it, then cleared her throat. "Alright kiddies listen up. I'm Yugao Uzuki, and I'm the one in charge of the second portion of this exam. And this is where you start shedding blood, sweat, and tears. Not necessarily in that order. So everybody head outside now. Jounin will escort you all to the location of the next test." With that, she disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

Back in Oto, Kushina sat down with Orochimaru in his office. She was drinking a brew Tsunade made for her to help balance out her electrolytes since her body was still returning to normal. She probably only had another week or so to get to active-ninja-appropriate levels, even with the enhanced longevity and recovery that came natural to Uzumaki's.

"So what's on your mind Kushina-san?" Orochimaru asked, having a sip of tea as well.

"A lot." Kushina answered wearily. "Orochimaru-sama, wait, can I call you that or should I-?"

The snake sannin nodded. "Go ahead. We're not doing business and I have no need to pull rank so my title is unnecessary in this conversation."

Kushina nodded. "Anyway, what bothers me most is... do you think it was wise to send Naruto into Konoha's clutches like that? Especially since Konoha is currently on alert for ninja from this village?"

"If we don't do it now, we won't have another opportunity for several years. By then we risk Konoha finding out more about us and getting better prepared. With them in the dark and their morale shaken by the weakening of their -for now- only Uchiha, we have a good chance at hitting them when they're least likely to retaliate in full. Also, there's another reason I wanted Naruto there so soon."

"What's that?" Kushina curiously asked.

Orochimaru grinned. "It involves making the Uchiha brat... 'suffer' a little more when the opportunity comes. And if Subsonic is correct in there being a genjutsu that prevents people from seeing him as Minato's son, then his presence will prove beneficial."

Kushina shifted in her seat to get more comfortable. "But what if Konoha... does something bad to him?" She sounded like the idea made her want to weep.

"It's a risk he's willing to take. And if it makes you feel any better, I'm sure all mother's feel that way regarding their children when they start becoming serious ninja. Speaking of which, did you want to return to active duty someday?"

"First, let me see how my son does and what happens to Konoha. Then maybe, yes I will. But only as long as I get to help instruct Naruto while I'm at it."

Orochimaru nodded. "I'd actually prefer that. And you need not worry. Something tells me that Naruto is going to be just fine. And if an idea I have works out later, we'll all be just fine too."

"What idea is that?" Kushina asked.

"Just wait and see Kushina-san. I wouldn't want to needlessly raise your hopes up."

The redheaded woman wanted to argue, but the look on the snake sannin's face told her not to. She sighed and straightened up a bit more. "Orochimaru-sama, if this plan of yours to attack Konoha does go thru, I have one request."

"What is that?"

Kushina looked him right in the eyes, making Orochimaru gasp at what he now saw, and answered vengefully. "Let me deal with the old man who started all this."

Orochimaru's surprise turned into a smile. "I see. Looks like Naruto wasn't the only one the kyuubi helped out."

* * *

All the attending genin were outside and several Konoha Anbu led them towards a gated forest with humongous trees. Teams were reunited and whispering amongst themselves in anticipation. Yugao reappeared while standing on one of the poles of the chain-link fence. Below her were several jounin holding stacks of papers.

"Alright kids listen up. Behind me is Konoha's Training Ground #44, also known as the Forest of Death. Here the best ninja test their skills against the worst things this or any other forest has to offer. Inside there are vicious man-eating animals, big blood-sucking bugs, quicksand pits you'll never see until it's too late, and even some of the plants are out to kill you. Rest assured, there's no way in hell all of you are coming out of this alive."

Yugao then jumped off her pole. "That's why before we start, we need all of you to sign some forms of consent. That way, our village can't be held responsible for any deaths and injuries that can, and likely _will_ happen to you all. Even those of you from Konoha have to sign these. So we'll take a ten minute break for all of you to do so. For convenience we'll just have one form per team that needs three signatures."

The jounin started handing out forms to all the teams one at a time, staying close by to later take them back. The one who approached the three Oto teams was none other than Ebisu, although none of them knew anything about him. "Here you nine go. Just where are you from anyway? I've never seen that symbol before." He asked them.

Naruto just shrugged and looked over the form. "Not saying. Ninja need their secrets. But could you tell me why such a supposedly dangerous forest has just a mere chain-link fence keeping people out and threats in?"

Ebisu momentarily looked at the fence, suddenly wondering that himself. "It does the job, that's the important thing." Two minutes later all nine Oto nin had signed their forms and returned them to the spectacled jounin. "Good luck kids. You're going to need it." He added before he walked away.

Twelve minutes were needed for all forms to be given to Yugao who accepted them without even looking at them. There was no need, as the jounin who handed them out would never hand them to her if they weren't fully signed. "Okay now that that's out of the way, I'll start explaining the rules of this part of the exam." She then jumped back on top of the pole to ensure everyone could see her, both hands on her hips.

"As the smarter of you have probably already guessed, you'll have to face a survival test. This test however will last five days and once you start you absolutely cannot quit. Just as with missions, you cannot accept then just decide you changed your mind before you finish. There may be some exceptions to that rule but not in this case." Yugao started. "You will have five days to complete your goal and reach your destination without your jounin sensei's there to keep you in line or cover your backs. Those fit to be chuunin should be able to handle situations like that and know the best way to get the best results."

Yugao then pulled out two scrolls she had strapped at her sides. One was black and had the kanji for Earth on it and the other was blue and had the kanji for Heaven on it. "These scrolls are your tickets to the next part of the exam. Literally. Each team will start out carrying a single scroll. Your goal is to acquire the opposite one by any means necessary and have your complete team reach the tower in the center of the forest by noon on the fifth day. Any teams missing a member or a matching set of scrolls will be forbidden entry into the tower and next portion of the exam. And any team can possess the opposite scroll and will fight to keep theirs and take yours from you."

She saw several genin look at their teammates and allies as they took this all in. "So in short, at most half of you will be able to make it to the third round. But keep in mind you'll not only be facing rival ninja, but the terrain and environment itself at the same time. And you'll have to manage on your own but keep your team cooperative to fully succeed. This is no place to try pulling rank amongst yourselves and trying to feel big. Your lives are on the line so don't go digging your own grave by doing stupid shit like that."

At that time Kiba and Sasuke were practically glaring at each other as if saying 'Don't you dare think I'm letting you be the one in charge.'

Yugao just kept continuing her lecture, about to finish. "So now that you know the objective of this test, here are the rules you need to keep in mind. Do not open the scrolls or you will suffer for it and be disqualified. Do not try to leave the enclosed area for the same reason. Do not come to the tower late or without all your team members. You are allowed to team up with other teams for this test but all teams need their own set of scrolls to qualify for the next portion. You are to treat this as a real-life situation and mission so killing is not forbidden, but I don't recommend you go looking for the chance to do it. Other than that, just try to survive. Any questions?"

"Yeah, what do we do about food if we're going to be in there for five days?" A chubby Konoha genin asked while raising his hand.

"Live off the land. Many things in the food are edible and the water is drinkable so you shouldn't worry about starving. And you are allowed to bring provisions. Hopefully you all brought them and first aid with you for this test beforehand along with weapons. You're going to need them. Anything else?"

A blonde girl next to the chuby boy raised her hand. "Yeah. What about hot bathes or a change of clothes? Will they be provided?"

Yugao, many jounin, and several ninja in the crowd groaned in annoyance. "What do you think this is? A vacation? Listen very carefully girl, this is not a place of luxury or a comfortable situation. Your life will be at risk and you will have to fight every day here just to stay alive. Staying clean and well-dressed should be the last of your worries. If you absolutely must prioritize that, then take a dunk in one of the rivers and have the foresight to bring an extra set of clothes. Even so, I pity you as a kunoichi if you think like that. Worry about whether or not you bleed than whether or not you smell nice. Now are there any _serious_ questions?"

Naruto raised his hand. "Yeah. What happens to a team that reaches the goal before the five days are up?"

Yugao smiled. "Now _that's_ a good one. The tower will provide rooms and food and hot water to any and all teams who make it there ahead of schedule. Think of it as a brief break before we get to the third round. You'll be free to do as you please as long as it doesn't break any village laws and all teams will need to be in the entry room at noon five days from now to be considered acceptable participants for the next tests. Anyone else?"

Nobody replied, so Yugao decided to wrap it up. "In that case, just stay there and let the jounin hand you your scroll. Keep quiet about which kind it is and don't even try to take one before you actually get inside the forest. Oh, I almost forgot. There are multiple entrances into the forest and you all will be assigned a gate to enter from, making it that much hard to find enemies and allies right away. So best of luck to you all and make your village proud."

With that, she disappeared and the jounin handed out scrolls and randomly assigned gate numbers. Naruto's team got Gate 14 and an Earth scroll. Kin's team got Gate 27 and a Heaven scroll. Sasame, Haku, and Fuu got Gate 29 and an Earth scroll. Gaara's team got Gate 44 and a Heaven scroll. They gave each other acknowledging nods before they headed to their assigned gates. Naruto, Hinata, and Isaribi had to take the long route to avoid their hitai-ate's being spotted by Sasuke, Sakura, and Kiba.

Everyone got ready, then a siren went off and the gates burst open. All teams headed right into the Forest of Death.

* * *

A few minutes went by before Naruto, Hinata, and Isaribi stopped running and stood at the base of a large tree. "Ok, we need a plan to get thru this quickly. Any suggestions?" Naruto started off with.

"We should try to get the other scroll by ourselves first." Isaribi suggested. "If people see us with the others all the time, it'll tell them we're easy pickings and maybe we're plotting something together."

"Well we _are_ plotting something, but I get the idea and agree." Hinata said with a nod. Then she faced Naruto. "Which scroll do we already have again?"

Naruto pulled it out of his pack. He was carrying it since they decided he was the best choice for keeping it to themselves. "An Earth one. So we need a Heaven one."

"Why don't we find a Konoha team and take one from them?" Hinata asked with a playful smile. "It'll be easy for me to find us one."

"But what do we do when we find one? We shouldn't just barge in blindly. Nor limit ourselves to just Konoha teams either." Isaribi asked.

Naruto nodded. "Hina-chan, what can you tell us about the nearest teams?"

Hinata activated her byakugan and looked around. "There are two teams nearby, the ones that used the gates on either side of the one we used, and both possess an Earth Scroll as well. We should avoid them to conserve our strength then since the fight would be pointless for us and them in the end. But they don't know that so they may pursue us anyway."

"Then let's get moving." Naruto replied as he hid the scroll again. The two girls nodded and continued running.

Hinata still had her byakugan on, and soon panicked as shadows appeared above them all. "LOOK OUT!"

* * *

At the same time, three kunoichi ran along the tree branches and planned out their own strategy. "So do we fight every unknown team we see and go from there or scout them first to see if they're worth the trouble?" Fuu asked.

"Scout first, obviously." Haku answered.

"Why would we do it the other way? That's just reckless." Sasame added.

"We'd have the element of surprise then and eliminate most of the competition that way." Fuu explained.

"But only if we won each time." Sasame countered.

"You're forgetting our group have a jinchuuriki with a sneaky kekkei genkai, which gives us a huge advantage." Fuu responded with a grin.

"A jinchuuriki? How nice. Let's see how tough you are girlie." Some unknown, unseen man's voice said from out of nowhere.

"Crap we're being ambushed!" Sasame said as she drew out a bladed gauntlet she strapped onto her right hand and forehead and came to a stop. Fuu pulled out a dagger and Haku grabbed some senbon as the three got back-to-back to defend themselves from whoever had overheard them.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kin, Zaku, and Dosu were trying to avoid a thick cluster of thorn bushes by jumping from tree to tree above them. "So what's the plan?" Zaku asked.

"I say we should try to get to the tower quickly to avoid most of the traps here and handle any other teams that try to assault us along the way." Kin suggested.

"No way, that's no fun. We should go find someone and take their scroll from them then go to the tower." Dosu countered.

"I agree. I want to have some fun while I can. Your idea is just stupid Kin." Zaku added.

"No, I'm trying to be realistic." The kunoichi argued. "In case you haven't noticed, this is hostile territory and we don't exactly make the best assault style team. Your idea of charging head-on in will cost us a lot. Our best chance lies in a sneak attack. Like if we surprised someone already on their way to the goal."

The two boys were silent for a moment. "Ok, that's smarter than I gave you credit for, but it just sounds so boring." Zaku commented.

Kin turned her head to give her teammate an irritated look. "We're not here to have fun you baka."

"Doesn't mean we can't. Lighten up Kin babe."

"Stop calling me that!" Kin all but shouted.

Dosu kept to himself but also kept his focus on his surroundings. Which is what probably saved his team the most in the next few seconds. "Down! Now!" He told his teammates as he descended to the base of the giant tree.

"What the...?" Kin and Zaku asked themselves, then got their answer in the form of a giant fireball approaching them from the front.

* * *

Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara were running across the ground and, being the slowest of the four allied teams, were behind all the others distance-wise. Fortunately they were in a relatively open area so they had hospitable terrain for now. Being desert-based shinobi they knew they had a big disadvantage in the forest, especially against any Konoha teams.

"So we agree to find one of the Oto teams as quick as possible so we can back each other up?" Temari asked her brothers. Oto was more experienced in these environments.

"You have to ask?" Kankuro asked back, then he smirked teasingly. "You know, if you want to hang around your boy toy some more, you can make a better excuse than that Nee-san."

"Remind me to hit you for that later." The four short-ponytailed girl replied.

"Can do." Gaara said, worrying Kankuro.

Soon the open part of the training ground came to an end and they had to enter the actual forest. The trip stuck to the ground and walked thru slowly for two purposes. The first was to be more aware of any approaching threat, and the second was to make themselves a more appealing target to enemy ninjas. They were going ninja-fishing with themselves as the bait, but bait that could fight back and take the scroll they needed.

All of a sudden a group of small birds quickly flew away and a twig could be heard snapping. Temari grabbed her fan, Kankuro grasped the wrapping on his karasu, and Gaara just stood his ground as all three awaited the approacher.

Unfortunately, it turned out to be a tiger that walked out from behind a tree.

"This could be a problem." Kankuro muttered.


	43. Counterstrike

Ch. 43 Counterstrike

With a swing of Temari's fan and some of Gaara's sand, the tiger was quickly gotten rid of without a trace but likely still alive somewhere. They wouldn't have to worry about it coming back anytime soon though. When they finished, Temari looked at Kankuro with a cocky smile. "And you were worried."

"Easy for you to say. You wouldn't have to risk damaging your weapon to get rid of something like that. I'd rather not try to break my puppet before we actually encounter someone." Kankuro defended himself.

"Aw, but that was just a big cat. I bet I could find a young cub and take it home and make it a pet." Temari countered, saying it in an uncharacteristically girly manner that made it impossible to tell if she was being serious or not.

"Oh sure, and where would you keep a jungle cat in the desert?" Kankuro asked sarcastically.

"We have oases."

"Those are public training and resting grounds."

"Quiet both of you." Gaara interjected sternly. "There might be more."

"I doubt it." Temari argued. "I heard tigers are territorial so there's little risk of seeing another anytime soon."

"If that's true, then wouldn't the tiger's territory be deeper than this, closer to the denser part of the forest?" Gaara asked.

"I guess. What's your point?" Kakuro asked.

"I think we may have bigger threats here than we were led to believe." The dark-eyed jinchuuriki said.

Not sure what to say, the three Suna nin continued on their way.

* * *

Kin, Zaku, and Dosu all luckily dodged the giant fireball by diving under it. None of them counterattacked since they didn't see the enemy yet and they didn't know any area-effecting jutsus yet. 'Note to self: See if Kabuto-sensei can teach us some of those when we get out of this.' Kin thought.

The fire evaporated into smoke, leaving some lasting burn marks on the trees. Now that they were warned, the three Oto genin got out their weapons. Dosu readied his sound blaster, Zaku cleared his pipes, and Kin grabbed a few senbon. In the meantime they still tried to go forward on the trees rather than stop and make themselves an easier target.

At the end of the thorn collection they saw their assaulters. They didn't know them personally, but they recognized the description right away. They came to a stop in front of the other team, creating a ninja stand-off.

Zaku spoke first. "Duck-ass hair on one, pink hair on another, with a white dog. Yep. You three must be the douchebags we heard so much about."

"What did you call us?" Kiba angrily asked.

"Douchebag, douchebag, douchebag." Zaku repeated.

"Zaku, remember what Kabuto-sensei said about antagonizing the enemy." Kin warned.

"Yeah, that we should do it as much as possible." He replied. 'It makes it harder for them to focus so their fighting gets sloppy.'

Kiba growled ferally. "You think you're so big? At least we come from a real village."

"Enough. What we really want to know is where are the rest of your group? We want the ones from your village we already met." Sasuke declared.

"Speak for yourself Sasuke. _You're_the one that wants that so don't go speaking for me like that." Kiba stated to his teammate.

"Ah, does the mutt not like taking orders. You know what happens to disobedient dogs?" Dosu jested.

"Let's get him Akamaru!" Kiba said as he ran towards Dosu.

"Looks like at least one of you has any guts." Zaku said condescendingly.

"I'll show you who has guts." Sasuke said as he pulled out a kunai. "And I'll take out your own while I'm at it."

Sakura looked towards the Oto kunoichi, wondering what to do, only to see she had disappeared. "What the-?" She was cut off by a kick from behind that sent her towards the ground. She didn't reach it since something grabbed her hair from behind, causing her scalp to hurt badly, along with a foot pressing down on her back.

"Nice hair." Kin said. "Free advice from one kunoichi to another. If you have the time to make your hair this soft and glossy for a mission, you're going to get in trouble for neglecting the real necessities."

Sakura looked at Sasuke, hoping he would help her. But unfortunately he wasn't even looking at her, just focusing on his opponent. However, Zaku's wind jutsus made it impossible for him to get close enough to do damage. And the Uchiha's fire techniques were just blown away from their target. Kiba and Akamaru weren't doing much better themselves against Dosu's Melody Gauntlet. 'Sasuke-kun, help me.' She silently pleaded.

* * *

"Shadow Clone Jutsu."

In a split second, a dome of Naruto's was made to protect the original along with Hinata and Isaribi from whatever was coming at them. "What is it?" Isaribi asked.

"Leeches. Giant leeches. The size of big dogs." Hinata answered.

Isaribi looked confused. "That can't be. Leeches can't get that big, and even if they did they'd be too heavy to move or breathe outside water, let alone climb into trees that high."

"Tell them that." Hinata replied hostily.

"Girls my clones can't last much longer. Let's go." Naruto said, revealing a gap between his clones they could use to leave. A few clones dispelled and it looked like the giant leeches were after the people with real blood. So the three genin got away quickly.

"Seriously those leeches weren't normal. Something has to be going on here." Isaribi continued.

"So what do you think?" Hinata asked.

"I'm thinking this place has traps already set up by the locals. I don't think we're facing just natural obstacles here. Konoha does not want many of us to pass this test. Remember that woman was surprised so many got thru the first test? And said at most half of us would pass this one, but she said it like she didn't believe that would happen?"

"So you're saying this test may be fixed to be more dangerous than it should be on it's own?" Naruto asked.

"Well leeches are by nature aquatic animals so why else would they be in treetops?" The swimming enthusiastic asked, but her teammates gave no answer.

Hinata, who still had her byakugan active, saw something of interest right then. "Never mind that now, we should probably go north-northeast now."

"Why?" Naruto and Isaribi asked even though they did turn that way with her.

"One of our guys may need some help."

* * *

Sasame, Fuu, and Haku jumped out of the trees and landed on the ground to dodge a cluster of kunai thrown at them from whoever spotted them. None threw their weapons, waiting to see the target first.

The target landed in front of them, revealed to be a trio of men from Ame wearing beige jumpsuits with longer-than-needed sleeves and breathing masks. Oddly one of them had one eye covered while another had both eyes completely covered. "Nice, three girls. That's something you don't see everyday." The Ame nin with both eyes visible said.

"Careful. One of them is a jinchuuriki apparently." The cycloptic Ame nin added cautiously.

"Then we better subdue her first. Won't Leader-sama be pleased to have one so soon?"

Fuu didn't like the sound of that. 'Fortunately they don't appear to know which one of us it is. But me just mentioning it should make me their first guess.'

Haku did a set of hand signs and the air suddenly got colder. Not that the Ame nin minded it much, as their outfits were insulating as least. "Ice Style: Crystal Ice Mirrors Jutsu." A dome of ice panels appeared around the enemy and Haku stepped into one. "You three won't be going anywhere."

The three Ame nin responded by trying to escape in three separate directions, figuring they couldn't be blocked completely. However Sasame and Fuu quickly got in front of the two closest to them while Haku shifted towards the third.

"Ice style: Thousand Needles Jutsu." Haku called out, creating many ice needles that fired out of her mirrors towards them all.

"Earth Style: Trap Chasm Jutsu." Sasame declared with her hands thrust into the ground, creating a large but not too deep fissure that stopped one Ame nin from advancing.

"Wind Style: Cyclone Fist Jutsu." Fuu proclaimed as a small tornado formed around each arm and fired off at her own target, forcing him back towards the center of the dome.

Haku smiled at their teamwork. Being a team for over a year, they had gotten this method down to a tee. She trapped them and her two teammates ensured no one got out thru the gaps in the mirrors, or in thru the gaps either. It was much better than doing it all by herself, which would have been taxing on her concentration.

All three Ame nin took a hit, but when they did they dissolved into mud. "Oh crap. We're fighting clones." Fuu said, briefly worried.

The three Ame nin appeared from behind Fuu. "And now we know your tricks."

Fuu turned and glared at them. 'Damn, now that they saw the ice dome getting them into it will be next to impossible. And how do I know these aren't more clones? Only one way to find out.' She grabbed a kunai and threw it at the center shinobi.

The Ame nin caught it, unamused by the effort. He was about to snidely retort, until he saw the lit paper bomb attached. Fuu meanwhile dashed inside Haku's ice dome for safety and the bomb exploded before the catcher could drop it.

The smoke cleared and Haku got rid of the dome, finding it unnecessary now. The three kunoichi saw no remains of their foes. "More clones?" Sasame asked.

"Likely. We better keep an eye out for them so Ame doesn't learn about us." Haku said, covering for Fuu in case the real ninja were still listening.

"Great. Another objective." Fuu sarcastically added.

Sasame looked at the surrounding trees. "What's the matter? A bunch of tough men like yourselves afraid to fight us girls head on? I heard Amegakure was a nothing village and you guys just proved that right."

That did the trick. The real Ame trio showed up in front of them. "Alright girlie, now you're in for it." The one-eyed one moved first, his baggy sleeves hiding his hand signs before he slammed his palms on the ground. "Earth Style: Mud Flood Jutsu." A huge wall of mud rose and then rushed towards the girls like a sort of horizontal avalanche.

Unable to counter, the kunoichis dodged by jumping onto the low branches of the trees. Fuu threw two more kunai with paper bombs attached but the targets dodged that and joined them in the branches. One of the Ame nin moved his sleeves to reveal a senbon launcher and fired it. All three girls used their kunais to deflect them but Sasame took two hits in her left thigh.

"Ice Style: Thousand Needles Jutsu." Haku countered with, but got a few more hits. She and Sasame threw a few shuriken while Fuu vanished.

The Ame nin blocked them and looked cocky even with their faces covered. "Ha. And you said our village was pathetic. Yours has to be even worse." The one-eyed one mocked.

Haku and Sasame looked at each other and nodded. "Thank Kami for Naruto-kun's twisted mind." Haku said to her teammate.

"Sexy Jutsu Costume Version." The two girls shouted together before transforming. Haku became an adult version of herself but blonde and wearing a kinky nurse's outfit, guaranteed to raise a patient's blood pressure, and Sasame become an adult brunette wearing a black catgirl costume with a belled collar, posing like a happy kitten.

The men looked at them strongly for five seconds before they all had nosebleeds, even the one with no visible eyes. They tried to turn away to save what blood they had left and avoid drowning inside their masks, but realized they were exposing their backs and turned to face the girls again. This time, to their relief and disappointment, they were back to normal. And three seconds later Fuu reappeared and nodded at her teammates.

The lead Ame nin looked ready to do something, but a strong burst of wind from behind knocked him and his teammates out of the tree and face first in the dirt. Haku, Fuu, and Sasame were spared the brunt of the force, and knew why the instant Temari showed up on one of the remaining branches.

"Hi you three. Need a hand?" The Suna blonde asked.

"It couldn't hurt." Sasame answered as she removed the needles in her leg.

Down on the ground, Gaara and Kankuro were already handling the Ame nin. Actually, Gaara stood back for a moment, letting his brother get a shot in because the Suna jinchuuriki would take all the fun if he did anything first.

Kankuro didn't have the time to analyze his opponents since they were swaggering to their feet, recovering from Temari's surprise attack. Acting on instinct, he wrapped his karasu puppet and attached his chakra strings. He made it fire a stream of poison-tipped senbon from it's mouth, hitting the two Ame nin with covered eyes. 'Why are they blinding themselves in the first place?' He briefly asked himself.

The Oto kunoichi trio and Temari softly landed on the ground by the men, ready to keep fighting. Gaara raised his right hand in an open grasping fashion. "Sand Coffin." Sand he already had scattered on the forest floor before Temari attacked rose up and engulfed the bodies of the Ame shinobi. Then he closed his hand in a tight fist. "Sand Burial." The mounds of sand compressed themselves, crushing the trapped people inside with hundreds of pounds of pressure per square inch.

"Thanks a lot Gaara. Now neither of our teams can get their scroll and get out of here quicker." Kankuro complained.

Fuu smiled and pulled a scroll out of her pocket. "Already got it. Haku-chan and Sasame-chan provided the distraction I needed to sneak it out of their pockets. It's a Heaven Scroll by the way. The one we need."

"Damn, we need an Earth Scroll. You three keep it then. We'll find another." Temari said.

"Good luck. See you at the tower." The kunoichi said before they parted ways with the Suna group, who went out hunting again.

* * *

Kin, Zaku, and Dosu were still busy with the efforts made by Kiba, Sasuke, and Sakura. Sakura finally did something by cutting off the hair that Kin had been holding and got away, but now she was primarily on the defensive. Sasuke was holding his own but not as much as he wanted to, and Kiba with Akamaru was giving everyone a challenge once they did their Fang Over Fang combo.

Dosu and Zaku wisely decided to switch opponents, as Zaku could handle two targets better than Dosu could. Kiba and Sasuke thought little of it as they still had someone to defeat and, in their minds, easily get to kick the other's ass once they finished the current one in front of them. Sakura and Kin faced off against each other, the pinkette in a defensive stance with a kunai and the brunette in an offensive stance with several senbon, both waiting for the other to move.

Sakura suddenly felt a sharp sting of pain in the back of both knees, instantly making her fall down as if kneeling. "What the-?" She asked and felt for the problem, finding a senbon in both her knees. "How did you...?" The Kin in front of her faded into nothing. "A clone?"

The real Kin kicked her on the back, making her opponent land on her face. "You have no imagination." It had actually been a minor genjutsu that tricked the victim into seeing the caster as if they were standing still, waiting to make a move, which allowed the real Kin to move behind her victim without being noticed as long as she was quiet.

Kiba suddenly went after Kin, forcing the brunette to dodge. The dog nin paused for a moment. "You okay Sakura?"

"Umm... yeah, thanks Kiba." She said quietly as she pulled out the senbon.

"Want me to handle her for a moment?"

"If you can, go ahead." Sakura tried to look at Sasuke, who hadn't even glanced her way yet, too preoccupied with his own fight with Dosu.

"Fang Over Fang!" Kiba attacked with Akamaru, aimed at Kin. She performed a substitution with a rock, which Kiba hit head on, knocking him out briefly. Akamaru pounced on the girl and bit her left thigh, making her cry out.

Suddenly someone came over and grabbed the small dog, making him let go from surprise. "Hey! Bad dog. No biting."

"Naruto-kun!" Kin happily said at seeing the disguised blonde.

He hated doing it, but Naruto had to toss Akamaru away before the dog tried attacking him. The puppy growled but decided tending to it's partner was a bigger priority now. "Of all the guys to face, we had to run right into these ones." Naruto lamented.

Dosu was keeping Sasuke at bay with high frequency soundwaves, but Sasuke had a good counter for that defense. "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu." Three fireballs shot out of his mouth aimed right at Dosu as he tried to dodge to the side.

"Water Style: Water Wall Jutsu." Isaribi called out just before a wall of water rushed up from Sasuke's left to defend the maned mummy.

'Where'd that water come from? There are no rivers or ponds near here.' Sasuke asked himself. He was already frowning at his attack being deflected, but his frown turned into a glare when he saw who deflected it. "You!"

Isaribi gave him a smug look. "Well I'll be damned. It's the red-eyed bastard. Oh wait, you don't have red eyes anymore."

Sasuke never caught this girl's name or skills, but he knew she was with the group he encountered in Wave. The music note emblem was proof enough. "Were you the one who did that to me?" He demanded to know as he readied himself for some lethal jutsu.

"No, but I'm not going to tell you who did."

Hinata tried to attack Sasuke from behind with a strike to the head, but he heard her footsteps. So he retaliated by turning around, grabbing her wrists, and throwing her over his back and towards Hinata. This was a basic defensive maneuver of the Uchiha's Intercepting Fist taijutsu. But once the two girls were in the same spot he did something even worse.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu."

Naruto's eyes widened and his heart stopped for a moment when he saw his teammates engulfed by flames before they could get away. Then he became pissed, and red chakra started to cover him like a cloak.

Kin smiled at the boy she admired. "Go get 'em Naruto-kun."

Before he did, the flame went out and two more growing chakra auras could be sensed. Hinata and Isaribi had some of their clothes burned off and their skin was healing from the burns they got, but the most noticeable thing was that both were covered in their Stage One curse markings and purple-black chakra auras. And they looked pissed too.

"What the hell are you three?" Sasuke asked in fearful awe as his eyes darted between Naruto, Hinata, and Isaribi.

"Enemies of the Leaf." Isaribi started.

"We're shinobi..." Hinata added.

"...Of the Sound!" Naruto finished.


	44. Fear

Ch. 44 Fear

Sasuke was known for many things. His Uchiha name and now former status as such, his now-gone legion of fangirls, his legacy of being the sole survivor of the Uchiha Massacre (most people ignoring the fact that Itachi never actually endangered him that night), and his antisocial arrogant behavior. But one thing he was not known for... was being cowardly.

And while he might not be a coward, right there, staring at the genin with sinister auras, Sasuke Uchiha was admittedly fearful. He was standing before three shinobi without his sharingan being a usable option, all three using some sort of power he couldn't predict. And worse of all he knew his skills might not be good enough to counter.

For the past few weeks, after being put down by everyone for now being a sharingan-less nobody, Sasuke trained himself privately every spare moment to convince himself they were wrong and he was still superior to all other carbon-based lifeforms. Only to find out his speed, strength, and accuracy were below his expectations. At first he thought he was just too angry to focus and calmed himself repeatedly. However, much to his dismay, his skills didn't instantly improve.

He could still remember the harsh truth being rubbed in his face.

-Flashback-

"Something wrong Sasuke?" Kakashi asked when he noticed his student was brooding even more than usual.

"Whoever took away my sharingan weakened my skills apparently." The young Uchiha replied.

Kakashi tilted his head sideways towards his left. "What makes you say that?"

"Because when I test myself now I'm not getting the results I used to get back in the academy. My running time's slowed down, my punches make less of an impact on my targets, and I'm missing more shots in target practice now." Sasuke explained.

"And you believe the absence of your sharingan is to blame here?" Kakashi asked, getting a nod as his answer. "Um... Sasuke, you didn't have your sharingan back at the academy so by your own logic you should be no different then you were back then. Not worse. And just so you know, I've done the same and I haven't gotten any worse then before."

"But how else could this have happened?"

'I'm not going to enjoy what happens next, I just know it.' The jounin told himself before speaking. "Don't you remember the council telling you they gave you many luxuries without you knowing to make you feel important? Is it possible they rigged your scores and tests to make you feel better than you actually are?"

Sasuke then looked like he couldn't decide if he believed or disbelieved the idea. In the end he decided it was too far-fetched for his tastes. "Why would they need to? I'm an elite so do that would-"

"Do exactly what the council wanted, which was fill your head with delusions of grandeur, wouldn't it?" Kakashi cut in. "They gave you everything you wanted to get on your good side Sasuke and to put you in debt to them. Remember they ordered some stores to give you reduced prices and they granted you more access to your clan resources than any other clan heir, even last ones, would be entitled to at your age. Is it really that hard to imagine they may have ensured your tests were rigged to guarantee you felt like the best, even if you weren't truly qualified for it on a fair basis?"

Sasuke frowned, but doubt had already been planted in his mind. 'Could he be right? But I know I did the best times and hit the most targets. How could that be rigged?'

Later that same night Kakashi would retrieve the academy files on the history of his students, something jounin were entitled to do to find problem areas in their student's skills. After he got them, he stopped by Sasuke's apartment to show him the contents of his own file of achievements.

Sasuke was shocked and insulted. 'What the...? Whenever I came in first in the runs and obstacle courses, they reduced the time recorded to make me sound faster? And the taijutsu instructors were instructed to take a dive whenever it was my turn if they wanted to keep their jobs? Huh? The targets for target practice had special magnets inside them that only worked with a jutsu the teachers used when it was my turn, guaranteeing a hit each time? Dear Kami-sama, if this is true, then how good am I really without someone letting me win at everything?'

-End Flashback-

Sasuke still wasn't too sure of the answer. Part of the reason he wanted to enter the chuunin exams was to find out for certain since Kakashi told him no one would hold back against him. The chance at revenge on those he met in Wave was just icing on the cake.

Now, as he stood there, facing three of the genin he saw in Wave, each radiating a dangerous energy and looking like a coiled snake ready to strike, he started thinking he made a mistake.

All three Oto genin took a stance. Hinata and Isaribi took the stance of snake-style taijutsu, which kept their legs close together but their arms apart, the right one usually pulled back and the left put ahead. The intent was so they could strike first and dodge any counterattack within seconds just like a viper. Hinata had her hands unclenched while Isaribi did. Naruto meanwhile took Jiraiya's toad-style stance instead, where his legs were bent outwards and his right hand was on the ground in front of him with his left hand in a ready fist. The intent was to wait like a toad for the enemies first move then retaliate.

The two girls were the first to attack, with Naruto settling for keeping the Uchiha's teammates from coming to his rescue or attacking the other Oto team. It wasn't too hard, as Sakura was scared shitless of the sight before her and Kiba, now recovered from his hit, was too confused to know what to do with three glowing enemies.

Hinata and Isaribi ran towards the lone Uchiha, Hinata's byakugan active but her contacts hiding her true eye color and her hair somewhat covering her bulging veins. Isaribi pulled out a longer-than-normal kunai and weaved to get behind Sasuke while Hinata got in front of him and took the focus of his attention. Once behind him the purple-haired girl crouched down and jabbed her kunai into his back, missing his spine giving him a nasty wound. Hinata meanwhile gathered sharp chakra points at her fingertips and struck many of Sasuke's tenketsu, making him scream even more.

Kiba thought now might be a good time to intervene before his teammate got killed and he himself could not advance any further. He got up and on all fours with Akamaru jumping on his back. But before they could do anything, Naruto got in front of them and snarled. The two boys then started trying to hold the other back in a direct face-off, each blocking the other's hands with their own and trying to push them back. Kiba used his claws to wound Naruto's hands at first, but Kyuubi's chakra started to burn his own, making him try to back off. However, Naruto used his own claws to hold the Inuzuka in place, furthering the pain.

Sakura looked between her two victimized teammates, not sure who to help or how. She looked first to Sasuke, who turned to catch Isaribi, but she dodged overhead and got some monowire out which she spun around him in that moment. It was easy since Hinata's fighting style made him slower than normal, and now that he was almost completely immobile, the byakugan-wielder could use this rare opportunity to attack every tenketsu on the human body, front back and side rather than just the front.

Acting on impulse, albeit delayed, Sakura got up to rush over and fight the other kunoichi. Unfortunately she was blocked by Kin, Zaku, and Dosu. Kin kept making glances towards the power-radiating Naruto though for a moment. 'He's so hot right now. If I wasn't so certain Hinata would kill me for it, I'll try seducing him once this was over.'

"Don't count us out just yet." Zaku said as he flexed his hands.

Sakura reacted in the only way she could see that would give her team the best results. "If I give you guys our scroll will you and them leave us be?"

The three Oto genin shared a look. "That depends on what it is." Dosu answered.

Sakura pulled out her team's Earth Scroll. Since Sasuke and Kiba couldn't agree amongst themselves she took it upon herself to do it instead.

Zaku smirked. "Perfect, we need that one. Thanks pinky." He said as he took it.

"Then you'll leave us be?" Sakura asked.

"We will, but we can't promise our comrades will." Kin replied. Ignoring Sakura's shocked expression, the brunette kunoichi calmly approached Naruto, who was still struggling against Kiba and Akamaru, who was trying to bite the jinchuuriki's ankle off it seemed. She brushed the puppy aside with her foot and leaned in to whisper in her love interest's ear. "We got their scroll so try and finish things up here quickly if you can. Ok Naruto-kun?" Then she quickly kissed his cheek, figuring Hinata wouldn't notice. Then she and her teammates left.

Naruto chose to do as the girl said and end this right away. He let go off Kiba, allowing the dog nin to back away and fan his burnt hands for a moment. Then he ran up to him and punched him right in the jaw, sending him flying and crashing into a tree head first. Akamaru wisely decided to leave this enemy alone now. Naruto admired his handiwork for a brief second. 'It's a shame he went down. He might have been a good challenge, had I actually given him a chance to fight back.' Then he turned to see how two of his confirmed eight girls were doing.

It looked like they were doing well, as Sasuke was face down on the ground but still breathing and they both stood over him ready to dish out more pain. "Good job girls. I'm glad you didn't kill him."

"I'd really like to though." Hinata said, not sure if it was the curse mark's influence or not.

"Why can't we?" Isaribi asked.

"Because I promised a certain someone we wouldn't. At least not yet, unless he killed one of our own." Naruto answered, his red chakra cloak fading away. "He came awfully close with you two, but not close enough. So we gotta let him live for now."

"And who did you promise?" Isaribi asked the disguised blonde.

"Subsonic. They've got something special planned for this guy later on, if you catch my drift."

Hinata nodded. "Ah, that makes sense."

"So what now?" Isaribi asked.

"This." Naruto said before making his hand glow with green chakra and he placed it on Sasuke's face after he turned the boy over.

Sakura watched in wonder. "What are you doing?"

The jinchuuriki didn't even look at her as he answered. "You and everyone else will find out in a month or two. If he lives that long that is." Finished, he stood straight up again. "The others got their scroll so we should move on." They nodded, and then jumped into the trees, heading elsewhere.

"Umm... Naruto-kun, why did you use a healing jutsu on that jerk?" Hinata asked, she and Isaribi making their curse marks recede.

"It was Jii-san's idea. Remember how thanks to what I did in Wave that guy can't use his precious sharingan for two more months? When he gets it back that's going to let Konoha know that my ability to take away their bloodlines is only temporary, which will make them less afraid of us. So how do we deal with that? Jii-san came up with the idea to do a jutsu for show, with unknowing witnesses around, that would let the Uchiha and everyone else in Konoha think someone gave him back his doujutsu."

"Wait. So you're saying that you did that just so when the seals fade and he gets his eyes back he'll think it wasn't supposed to happen on it's own? He'll think the only reason he got it back is because you gave it back to him, rather than it being a timed thing?" Isaribi asked.

Naruto nodded. "Yep. His teammate will tell him I did some kind of jutsu to his face, his eyes come back in time if he lives that long, and no one knows the real reason why. Making Oto look like it has total control over the bloodlines of other villages."

"I like it." Hinata commented.

"Me too." Someone else said as they caught up to the three genin.

* * *

Sakura, now able to move her legs without them trembling, came over to check on her teammate's well being. He appeared dazed and out of it with blood pooling underneath himself and many small bruises on his skin but that was it.

"Oh Sasuke-kun." She said with a few tears as she pulled out her first aid kit. She turned him over so she could see his back and tend to his wounds. She tried to pull up his shirt but he ineffectively swapped her hand away.

"Don't even think about it."

"But how else am I supposed to patch you up?"

"Sure, that's how it'll start. Then you'll get eager to see and do more and I'm in no mood for that." He irritably claimed, clenching his teeth in an effort to bare the pain.

"Healing you is a bigger priority Sasuke-kun and you need my help." She replied matter-of-factly.

Sasuke tried to sternly look at her as she unfurled some gauze. "No I don't. I can handle this myself. Go help out the mutt if you feel you must touch a guy now." He was somewhat surprised to see the kunoichi give him an annoyed look rather than a diligent one.

"Fine. If you've got the energy to argue then go ahead and treat yourself. But know this Sasuke-kun, I'm still one of the few people in this village that treat you as someone special. Do you really want to turn me away too?" She got up and headed towards Kiba rather than await Sasuke's response.

In all honesty Sasuke actually did want Sakura to treat his wounds, if only to conserve his own strength and have someone who could get a better look at his injuries do the job. But his Uchiha pride demanded he not just let her do it, rather he deny so she'd insist and go ahead only to get it done. He did not expect her to decide to let up like that.

'Could even she be losing respect for me, like the others?' He asked himself, not sure if he should like the idea or not.

* * *

"Ah, Subsonic, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked his group's new guest.

"I'm just keeping an eye on my favorite genins. Gotta make sure this test isn't rigged like I suspect it is." The disguised ninja answered as they kept pace with the younger ones.

"Rigged?" Isaribi asked.

Subsonic nodded. "Yeah, I have a feeling that Hokage-sama decided to set up this test in a specific way once he found out Oto was joining. Part of it is to test the new village's strength, and the other is to see if it's directly responsible for what happened to their last Uchiha."

"That doesn't sound too bad. We can handle that, right?" Hinata commented.

"It gets worse." Subsonic continued. "You're too young to know this, but almost every one of the five major hidden villages rig these tests. They claim they're just using a home-field advantage, but history shows the ones most likely to advance to the final rounds and actually get promoted are the ones native to the village hosting the test."

"Wait, so you're saying that the only ones who really stand a chance at getting a genin promotion are the Konoha genin?" Isaribi asked.

"No, but the odds are in their favor. Think about it. Chuunin exams attract business to the villages and the ones who appear the strongest get the most business. To appear the strongest, the village needs to have the most advanced genin and the most promotions. That tricks the payers of missions into thinking one village has more qualified ninja for hire than another, even if they're more expensive or harder to reach."

"So you're saying that each village to an extent sets up this test to give it's own genin an unfair edge so in the end they earn more money for the village?" Hinata asked, somewhat appauled by the idea.

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Subsonic replied. "Konoha may be a ninja village but it needs funding just like any other. And like ninja, it may go about the job in a sneaky way. Oto would probably do the same if it got the chance to host the exams."

"So do we stand a chance at all or is us being here just to make Konoha look better by beating us at a game they shouldn't lose in the first place?" Naruto asked, feeling angry.

"Oh yeah, if you make it to the final round then yes you do. Konoha isn't allowed to be the only governing body when it comes to deciding promotions. That would be considered an unfair and heavily biased situation. Kages for other villages and even daimyos of other countries come to the village to watch and all are allowed to make their own judgments. Village councils and advisors are allowed to make suggestions too. Of course, final say goes to the kage for each of their respective genin, but they have to explain to their advisors and daimyos why they made such decisions so promotions can't just be handed out."

"So Konoha can't disqualify us or deny us our chances?" Hinata asked.

"Exactly." Subsonic answered. "They're allowed to make reviews on you and pass them, but ultimately the decision is Otokage-sama's. The hokage can only truly promote or deny his own genin, not someone else's."

"That's a relief. But are you certain this test is rigged to favor Konoha's chances?" Isaribi asked.

"When you get to the finals, or even some sort of preliminary in the chance that happens, check how many participants are from Konoha and how many aren't. Then you'll see. Until then, I better get going before anyone notices I snuck in here. Good luck. Oh, and before I forget, thanks for sparing Sasuke's life Naruto." Subsonic said before departing.


	45. Restless

Ch. 45 Restless

Naruto, Hinata, and Isaribi didn't find anyone else for the rest of the day they had to fight off. When it came time to stop for the night, Hinata found them an open area they could climb into underneath the roots of a large tree. Naruto took the first watch, allowing Hinata and Isaribi to get some sleep. Also his many bloodlines should be enough to counter the efforts of any last-minute attackers. Now, hours later, it was time for a shift change.

Both girls woke up, tested for any genjutsus that may have been used in their sleep by someone, and Naruto came inside so one could take his place. "Okay girls, who's next?" He asked.

"How about Hinata?" Isaribi asked.

Said girl gave her teammate a dour look. "And why should I?"

"Because it's still dark out. With your eyes you'd have an advantage over me, who can't see that well in the dark." The purple-haired girl explained.

The pale-eyed girl didn't look like she bought it. "If you can see underwater I'm sure you can handle the low-light vision of night."

"Yeah but we're in dangerous territory here so we need to used the best advantage we got. Like your eyes." Isaribi replied. 'Why is she getting so defensive all of a sudden? This isn't like her, but I know it's not someone under a henge.'

"You just want some time to sleep next to Naru-kun!" Hinata said with no small amount of hostility.

"It would happen later whether or not you took this watch or the next so what's the problem?"

"Calm down girls." Naruto said, only to get an annoyed look from Hinata.

"I can't Naru-kun because she's trying to get into your sleeping bag with you when my back's turned and get closer to you right under my nose! How am I supposed to be okay with that?"

"Do you think I'm going to do anything more with her tonight than sleep in the same area?" He asked.

"No, but she will." Hinata answered with a pointed look at the swimming enthusiast.

"Hey, as one of his girls, one chosen by both of you I might add, I have a right to be friendly with him too you know." Isaribi commented.

"Only when I approve and right now I don't!"

"And what if _he_ does?" Isaribi asked.

"It's my choice what happens between my future husband and other girls and I say hands off until further notice!" Hinata declared.

"Wood Style: Treehugger Jutsu." Naruto called out with their attention diverted. Instantly many branches came out of the tree base, each with a hand at the end, and all grabbed ahold of the two girls.

"What the-?" They asked as the felt their arms and legs and even the sides of their torsos grabbed by the wooden hands and lifted off the ground. They both put up a bit of a struggle but the hands just tightened their grips. "What gives Naru-kun?" Hinata asked, more surprised than anything right then.

"You two need a time out. Especially you, Hinata." He answered, trying not to look mad but clearly not looking happy either.

She now gave him her full attention and a shocked expression. 'Naru-kun doesn't use my full name unless he _really_ needs my attention. What's wrong? Did I upset him?'

Seeing they were listening, Naruto said more. "We're in enemy territory now. The enemy is outside these walls, we don't need to turn against each other like this. Especially over something like this."

He then looked right at Hinata, his sad gaze making her heart ache. "Hinata, lately you've been acting a bit... possessive of me. I know I promised that you'd be my real wife, but you're not acting like the girl I fell for. You're acting like... you're a little kid being told to share their favorite toy when they don't want to. And I'm that toy."

'He's got a point.' Isaribi said to herself, afraid to voice any thoughts right then since this was mostly between the two of them.

Hinata didn't say a word so Naruto continued. "The girl I fell for wasn't a possessive person who regarded me as if I was wearing a sign that said 'Property of Hinata - Hands off until further notice'. The girl I fell for wouldn't keep me on a short leash like I'm going to run away first chance I get. The girl I fell for... would instead trust me."

"I... I do trust you Naru-kun." Hinata countered with a few tears being released. "It's just... how am I supposed to be special to you when I'm just one out of nine?"

He took a step closer to her. "Do you really think I'd treat you like you're just another girl to me?"

"But you said you'd treat all the others as good as you'd treat me." She added. "How will I be different than them if I don't reinforce the fact that I'm the alpha girl of the group?"

Naruto sighed. "You don't have to prove anything to them Hina-chan. Isaribi-chan and the others already know you're the 'alpha girl' so to speak and from what I've seen they're not trying to take that away from you. Isaribi-chan was just stating a fact moments ago. At this time of night you do have a visual advantage over her. And even if she did try to sleep right next to me, it's not like I couldn't tell her no or we'd do anything intimate if I did allow her to stay."

"He's right you know." Isaribi told Hinata.

Naruto made it so the ensnaring tree arms lowered Hinata a bit to allow more leveled eye contact between the two. He then got closer so he could wipe away her tears. "Hinata, I don't want to lose you, but... if you keep acting like this, then I'm afraid we won't work out."

Hinata could actually feel her heart start to break. Tears practically poured out of her eyes. "No Naru-kun, anything but that! I love you, I can't bare to lose you like this! Please let me keep being your girlfriend!"

"I love you too Hina-chan. But you need to learn to share me. I'm sorry, but that's our situation. I need to be with girls that can get along with each other, not fight over who gets more time and whose turn it is to touch me." He told her, a few tears in his own eyes. "You know I need to treat the others really good too. Would it be fair to them if I didn't? It doesn't mean you won't be as special to me anymore. But it's my choice when to spend time with the other girls, not just yours. I would let you know when I do, but I'm not going to be some boy-toy that girls have to schedule time for."

"If I may..." Isaribi said, catching both of their attentions for a minute. "Hinata-chan, maybe with all the time and effort you've be using to ensure your status among us girls, that very thing seems to have been hurting your status to him. Think about that."

Hinata did. 'Is it true? Have I started becoming some kind of territorial jerk? I... I just wanted to be the most important one in Naru-kun's heart, and I didn't want the other girls to try to compete with me for that.'

Isaribi took this opportunity to continue her point. "Hinata-chan, I know you're the more important of us all to him. Hell, if he didn't need multiple girls you'd still be the only girl he'd think of looking at. I know that, we all know that. But we accept that. We can't take your place, but we are entitled to have our own places in his heart too and some girlfriend-privileges if we're really going to make this thing work. You can't keep his heart to yourself anymore. The other eight of us are going to be the mothers of his children too so we'll deserve to be treated with some love too. Besides, no matter how much he cares for us all, you're the only one amongst us in this that will wear a ring. If that's not enough of a message for his feelings for you, maybe you shouldn't be the one he puts that ring on."

The former Hyuuga hung her head and openly weeping. "Naru-kun, I'm so sorry. I've been such a bitch, haven't I?"

Naruto released the wood jutsu on them both, turned off his kekkei genkai, and hugged his best friend. It made her cry more and cling to him with all her might. "No you haven't. You've just been afraid. Just promise me you won't try to become some kind of girlfriend-zilla like that again."

She relaxed but didn't let go. "I won't, I promise."

Isaribi smiled. "I guess I'll take the next watch after all so you two can work out anything else in private."

Hinata turned to look at her other teammate. "No, you're right. My skills are better suited for this time then yours are like you said. I'll go. You and Naru-kun get some rest for a bit." Naruto then kissed her forehead and she kissed his cheek. After that she separated herself from him and went outside the tree, taking a post in the foliage to avoid being seen. 'I need to show Naru-kun I can trust him to be with the others when I'm not around. I shouldn't worry, because even if I'm just one of nine, I'm Number One of nine.'

She activated her byakugan to be on the lookout, and saw Isaribi and Naruto starting to sleep only a meter apart from each other. The purple-haired girl clearly wanted to cuddle up with the disguised blonde, but he appeared to be resisting for now, going so far as to face away from her despite the potential rudeness in the act. Hinata strangely felt relived and saddened by this. 'I'm glad I have nothing to worry about, but maybe next time I'll tell them it's okay. I don't want Naru-kun afraid of my reactions after all.'

Even as she told herself this, Hinata was repeatedly clenching and unclenching her fists.

* * *

In another part of the Forest of Death, Team 7 of Konoha was resting for the night as well. They chose to sleep in the branches of a large tree rather than under it. Right now it was Sasuke's turn to stand watch for nocturnal enemy activity. The dark-eyed emo was doing his duty, but he had other things on his mind at the same time as well.

'Maybe I made a mistake entering this exam, just to test myself.' He told himself woefully. 'I mean, I'm probably the only one here who doesn't know how good they really are. Damn the council for exaggerating my skills. What if I got myself in a situation where I could die because I didn't know my true strengths?' He then felt a pang of self-loathing and self-pity, but he ignored it. 'It's all their fault and Kakashi's fault for making me believe that. They should have known better. Yeah, it's all their fault. If they hadn't done that, I'd still have my sharingan.'

He sighed internally and scanned the area again before turning around to see what was behind him. 'In that case I don't know who I should be angrier at. The one who took my sharingan from me, or the ones who set my life up with their own gain in mind. If I never lost my doujutsu, I'd still have all the privileges and status I took for granted, but I'd still be an ignorant pawn of a greedy government that only _let_ me think I was on top.'

That thought triggered a new train of thought that made his whole body jerk in shock for a moment and his eyes widen at the mere prospect of it. 'Wait. Does that mean I should be... grateful to the jerk that took my kekkei genkai from me? Is it better to be privileged yet ignorant, or humbled yet aware of the truth? I... don't think I like either.'

While Sasuke pondered his options, his kunoichi teammate was doing the same thing in her sleep. Sakura, once adamant in her decision to pursue her goal, was now torn between two choices to make. She could either continue to pursue Sasuke, her odds greatly increased without any other rival to compete against now, or ditch him and find someone else to take an interest in, like her aunt told her to.

'Sasuke-kun needs help and a caring friend in these hard times for him. But when I tried to be he wasn't interested. But I've always tried that and never thought about any other boy... because Obasan always told me he was the only one worth thinking about. I even ended my friendship with Ino so I could get Sasuke-kun like Obasan told me to do. She said we would have to fight over him someday anyway so it would have been better to not have that kind of bond to interfere with my chance of victory. But now Ino's not interested, which makes me the best option for Sasuke-kun but he's just being more distant.'

Her mind continued to ramble as she shifted from sleeping on her left side to her right. 'If Sasuke-kun warms up to me, then I'll get what I wanted, even though I won't have the rich high life I expected to. It's not like I can't cope with a regular budget; I've been doing that all my life with Obasan. But being with someone rich and powerful was my dream too. I just always assumed Sasuke-kun would have that too and could never possibly lose it. Now that he has... I don't know which goal is more important. I want to be with Sasuke-kun, but I also want to be wealthy and not have to work all my life just to live under a budget. Which do I choose to pursue the most?'

In her dreams Sakura heard two voices, neither of them Inner Sakura. The first was the voice of Sasuke, who said "I'm an Uchiha dammit! The elite of the elite of the elite! Even the richest daimyo isn't as important as the poorest Uchiha! You really want to throw me away when the odds are almost entirely in your favor?" The second was the voice of her aunt Natsumi, who said "He's nothing but an empty wallet and a limp dick now! Men are supposed to spoil women rotten and now he can't so what good is he to you? Ditch him and find some other clan heir to swoon over! Don't piss away your chance to bag a loaded wallet!"

The internal yelling was starting to give the pinkette a headache. It was understandable, as those two and their ideals had pretty much been the only two she had ever really listened to and considered important enough to follow. Sure, she obeyed the hokage and academy teachers when they gave orders, but to Sakura, the true power-figures were and always had been Sasuke and Natsumi. But now that the two sides no longer said the same thing, she felt torn between them.

Kiba meanwhile just drooled and smiled as he slept.

* * *

Back with Hinata, her eyes were peeled for any threat. Her byakugan revealed several nocturnal animals going about their business and some rival shinobi moving within her range, fortunately not towards herself. Fortunately all these things kept her focus off her sleeping teammates.

While the byakugan was indeed a doujutsu that gave it's user a large range of vision, like all kekkei genkai there were a few facts about it's use that no one without it could understand. One such fact was that the wielder couldn't truly see everything around themselves like others claimed. If the eye truly allowed someone to see EVERYTHING within it's large range simultaneously, as most assumed it did, the visual part of the wielder's brain would probably self-destruct from sensory overload. To prevent this, the wielder basically had a visual focal point that was free to move around to anywhere within range, with everything else being a sort of large range of peripheral vision. Sort of like something a normal-eyed person would see on the edge of their visual scope; seen but not actually looked at.

So even though Hinata didn't have to move her eyes or head to see something new, she still had to move the focus of her vision around, as if she was moving her eyes or head instead, to check for danger. Fortunately she could do it quickly for the odds of something slipping by while her focus was elsewhere was slim to none. Another good point was that there was also a permanent secondary focal point always positioned in front of themselves, so when byakugan-wielders were on the move they could look around themselves without sacrificing quality sight for what was in front of them.

'There's some bats, an owl, three Iwa genin resting, a team of Taki nin running towards the center of the forest, another team of-wait! Is that...? Oh crap.' Hinata thought to herself as she kept watch then saw something she didn't like.

Moving quickly, Hinata got out of the tree limbs and ducked inside the underground den. She was already aware of Isaribi spooning Naruto from behind and was still somewhat annoyed by it, but right now she had a bigger concern. "Naru-kun, wake up!" She loudly whispered in his ear. He stirred but didn't look like he was waking up. "Wake up! We've got trouble!"

"Whattizit?" He asked in a dazed slur.

"A Konoha team is heading our way. And this one has a Hyuuga in it!"

That jolted Naruto to full awareness. He could see the problem right away. If Hinata's byakugan saw this genin and could tell they were a Hyuuga, and was this worried about it, it could only mean one thing: The Hyuuga saw her too and could see a foreign ninja had their bloodline.

Since Isaribi was still asleep, Naruto just hoisted her onto his back. "Let's go then." Hinata nodded and both left their hideout, immediately heading for the branches to jump thru.

Hinata reactivated her doujutsu. "He's still on our tail. He definitely sees me and isn't looking happy. He's accompanied by a girl with some scrolls in her pockets and a guy in a green jumpsuit and a rather small chakra system."

"How do we lose him?" Naruto asked.

"What about if you use your Unbloodline to make me no longer have the byakugan for a time? Long enough to throw them off?" Hinata suggested.

"No good. Konoha's already on a witch-hunt for anyone with the Unbloodline. If they see that, it's like painting a big bulls-eye on our team." Naruto countered.

"Damn, you're right. How about Gravity Control?"

"Good enough for me. Hang on." Naruto told her, only to get her to clamp onto him on his front side. 'I didn't mean literally, but I won't complain.' Naruto then activated his Gravity Control kekkei genkai, briefly worried what that showed the pursuing Hyuuga, and took to the air with his teammates in tow.

The Hyuuga chasing them stopped in his tracks, and his teammates soon did too to ask what was wrong. His response: "I must be more tired than I thought. I could have sworn I just saw them fly away like birds."


	46. Passing

Ch. 46 Passing

Morning came, making it the second day of the second part of the chuunin exam. Naruto's team found a spot to sleep at the far end of the Forest of Death, away from the Konoha team they fled from. Fortunately they had no other encounters, but Hinata and then Isaribi still kept guard.

The swimming enthusiast was up for the last round of nighttime guard duty, and heard a noise behind her. She turned around, armed with a kunai, only to see Naruto had just woken up. "Oh, good morning Naruto-kun. Sleep well?"

He nodded. "Yeah, but Hina-chan needs some more. I thought I'd keep you company till we head out."

She smiled. "I'd love that." The two then sat down to be comfortable but still remained cautious of their surroundings. Isaribi decided to initiate the conversation. "Y'know Naruto-kun, I'm kinda glad you stood up to Hinata-chan like that last night. You'll have a hard time keeping nine women's respect if you let yourself be whipped like that."

"I guess." He replied half-heartedly.

She turned to face him. "Something wrong Naruto-kun?"

He faced her before answering. "I'm just curious. Why exactly did you agree to be one of the nine Isaribi-chan? I'm flattered and not against it, but I'd like to know why you'd want to be a part of this. I have a hard time understanding why any woman would, considering how I hear they hate unfaithful men and all."

Isaribi fiddled with her hands, indicating she was a bit uncomfortable being put on the spot like that. "Well Naruto-kun, I've liked you for a long time. You were the first boy I got to know and you've always been my friend since then. I think I've basically had a crush on you my whole life. I was a little hurt when you told me that Hinata-chan was your girlfriend, but I wished you the best anyway because you still meant a lot to me. I think that was when I realized I had wanted to be your girlfriend too. When I heard you needed more girlfriends, I figured it was better to be on the edge of your heart if I couldn't be in the center."

The memory of seeing Naruto and Hinata starting to date still made her heart ache. She knew why he chose her though. Those two were often together since Naruto needed to learn a taijutsu to go with his Neo-byakugan, and Hinata needed to learn how to fight without using the Hyuuga's juuken. The two had to always try new things out and be creative and compatible, so a relationship was inevitable. Only Haku, Sasame, and Fuu got nearly as much of his attention in a similar way but they weren't in the same class as him so that increased the odds in Hinata's favor.

Sensing her sadness, Naruto placed his arm around her shoulders to comfort her. She leaned into him more, eager to feel his warmth. "Besides, I have faith you'd stay faithful to us all. The fact that you care what we think and want us to be happy tells me you don't see us as sexual playthings to use until you get bored. Plus I'd be lying if I said you don't look downright hot in a swimsuit." She added, a bit more cheerful that moment.

Naruto blushed. "Umm... thanks. And to be honest, I'd have to say the same to you."

Now Isaribi blushed. "Thanks. Hey, I've always had this fantasy about going skinny-dipping with you. Can we do that when we get back home?"

Naruto's blush deepened and a small trickle of blood escaped his nose. "Umm... I... uhh..."

Isaribi couldn't prevent herself from chuckling at his response. "I promise you'll like what you see." She coyly offered, pressing herself against him just to see his reaction.

"I don't doubt that." He mumbled, still a little in shock at the notion of skinny-dipping with a girl, even if Hinata had made the offer.

Isaribi leaned against him some more, without pressing herself now, and rested a hand on his chest, feeling his hard muscles she enjoyed looking at when he was shirtless. "Naruto-kun, as long as we're on the subject, why did you ask me to be one of the nine?"

He cleared his throat. "Because... you're one of my dear friends too Isaribi-chan. I've always enjoyed when we had fun together growing up. I would have enjoyed training with you, but none of my kekkei genkai were compatible with your training." She nodded, remembering how she was trained under a former Kiri nin in her particular fighting style thanks to Orochimaru before becoming a genin and being placed on Anko's team.

"I'm glad you always did make time for me though." She commented.

"I'll try to make more, when we're not on missions and such. But it will be tough since I still need to give the others personal time too." He told her.

Feeling flattered, Isaribi leaned up and kissed his cheek. "It's okay, being with you on your team and doing missions is good enough, so don't stress yourself too much for my sake. But I won't say no to more time when you want it."

Before the two could say anything more, they heard approaching footsteps from behind and saw Hinata walk towards them rubbing the sleep out of her right eye. "Good morning Naru-kun." She said as she came up to him and kissed his cheek, aware Isaribi had already kissed the other one moments ago.

"Good morning Hina-chan." He told her.

"See? Was last night really so bad?" Isaribi asked.

Hinata mocked-sighed. "It could have been worse. That Hyuuga could have caught up to us after all."

"Let's have something to eat then get moving so he can't do that anytime soon." Naruto offered.

Hinata nodded, happy for the distraction. She woke up a few minutes after Naruto did but let him have some time alone with Isaribi. As much as she resisted, she couldn't help but eavesdrop a little. 'I'm glad that including Isaribi-chan turned out to be a good idea. I'm still not fully okay with having to share Naru-kun intimately with others, but I guess if she isn't trying to steal my man from me I can tolerate it a bit more. Even so, I had to stop them before she went any further. I don't want Naru-kun getting ideas that the other girls are more...' She found herself unable to finish that particular thought.

The trio ate a small breakfast of rations and did some stretches to get their bodies ready for the next day of challenges. They were in a hurry though, since now they had only four days counting today to complete the test. By now some teams were bound to be missing their original scroll so if they were still in the game they'd be even more desperate.

Without being asked to, Hinata activated her byakugan and scanned the area. The first thing she looked for was the Hyuuga from last night. She breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't see him, and then focused on finding teams with the scroll they needed, the Heaven Scroll. "There's a Kusa team to the northwest with the scroll we need and a Hoshi team to the south-southeast with one too. The Kusa team is next to a river and the Hoshi team is by some bramble bushes and a cave. Which should we try to fight?"

"I say the Kusa team. I could use that terrain better." Isaribi said.

"I gotta admit I've always wanted to see a Hoshi team in action, but now's probably not the time to be too curious." Naruto commented.

"Kusa it is then." Hinata claimed. "Let's try the less surprising one first."

With that, the trio took to the trees and headed northwest. Hinata kept her byakugan on to detect any threats along the way and fortunately found none.

They stopped before they could be noticed. Hinata used her doujutsu to overlook the area. "Three genin as usual, all wearing green ponchos and straw rain hats. They're arranged in a triangular formation setting up tripwires, underground paper bombs, and kunai firing traps as well. So they're planning on resting here for a while, meaning they were seriously exhausted not too long ago and are still recovering and planning their next move. Or maybe they're taking down the traps and getting ready to move on soon. Either way, we should strike quickly."

"Agreed. How?" Isaribi asked.

Naruto smirked. "I think I know how."

The three Kusa nin went about their business, ignorant of their current observers. "I'm done over here." One of them shouted out to his partners.

"Almost. Hopefully this should keep anyone out." Another said after planting some paper bombs underground like mines, some deeper than others to prevent anyone from using underground earth jutsus to sneak attack.

The third member suddenly stopped what they were doing. They turned their head left and right to search the area. "Something's wrong. I can sense a chakra source, but I can't pinpoint it."

"Try harder Karin." The second Kusa genin plainly told his sensor kunoichi teammate while he continued on his own work.

"Easy for you to say." She replied flatly as she continued to search her surroundings. 'Weird, for some reason, the direction I'm feeling the most chakra from is...' She paled as she slowly lifted her head. 'Right... above me?'

When she looked up but not towards the trees, she saw a brunette boy wearing a music note hitai-ate actually hovering above her, his arms crossing and his feet positioned to make it appear he was standing on something invisible. And the chakra amounts she sensed coming from this guy was leaps and bounds above anyone she even encountered before.

"Guys, we've got trouble." Karin warned her partners, all the while afraid and in awe of this newcomer.

They turned towards her and were just as shocked to see a ninja floating in the air.

"Nice trap, but you forgot to consider an attack from above." Naruto stated.

"Oh yeah? Try dodging this!" One of the Kusa male genin said as he threw several kunai.

"Weight Increase." With a mere wave of his hand, Naruto made all kunai stop and fall straight to the ground.

"What the hell? He didn't even touch them?" The second Kusa male genin said in shock.

Naruto then waved his hand over them all. "Weight Increase."

Suddenly, all three Kusa shinobi collapsed to the ground and couldn't get up. "What's going on? I can't move!"

'My body is so heavy. What did he do?' Karin asked herself.

"Hina-chan, Isaribi-chan, act now." Naruto called out.

The two girls came out and approached the downed team carefully. Not out of fear, but caution for Naruto's Gravity Control jutsu. He could either target just them, or make everything in a specific area feel the effects. They didn't want to walk into the area if they'd become affected too and become so heavy their legs couldn't support their new weight. Fortunately it turned out only the shinobi were affected so Hinata and Isaribi remained their normal weight.

Hinata went up to one of the male genin and took the scroll out of his pocket. Or rather she struggled to. "Naru-kun, you made the scroll heavy too! It weighs as much as a bowling ball!"

"My bad. Weight Decrease." He replied. He couldn't return it to it's original weight without cancelling out the entire jutsu, so he settled for making that specific item lighter.

The scroll got lighter as intended and now could be lifted without hassle. "Thanks."

Isaribi pulled out some monowire. "Good. Now let's keep them from following us."

"We can't tie them up if they're too heavy to move." Hinata pointed out.

Isaribi blinked twice in realization. "Damn you're right." Her initial idea for restraining these guys was to wrap them up in wire to make them unable to move after they got away. That couldn't be done under the circumstances. But then she got another idea and snapped her fingers. "Wait, I know what to do." She reached into her equipment pouch and pulled out three nets made from monowire that had kunais on the edge.

Hinata smiled. "That should do."

"Girls, I'm on a time limit here." Naruto said, reminding them he couldn't do this for too much longer. He even already came down to the ground but still had about six or seven minutes left to use this bloodline.

"I'm on it. I'm on it." The purple-haired girl replied impatiently. She threw a net over each of the Kusa shinobi and used six kunai apiece to anchor the nets down, effectively holding them in place. And since monowire was a strong metallic thread that could cut flesh at times, getting free was not going to be easy.

"We're almost out of kunais now Naru-kun." The byakugan wielder told the disguised blonde.

"I'll make us some more when we have some spare time. But for now, let's go."

"That should do it." Isaribi told them as she finished up tying down the last of the trio. "Should I add an explosive tag too?"

"That would be overkill. Let's just hurry to the tower. I bet I can get us there in less than five minutes." Naruto replied.

Hinata nodded and smiled. "Final round here we come." She then grabbed onto Naruto so she could fly with him. Isaribi had to be placed on Naruto's back, since she still didn't care much for heights, and the young man took to the sky.

"Just who is that guy?" Karin asked herself.

* * *

Naruto landed before his time for using Gravity Control ended behind some trees close to the central tower of the forest. He stopped to rest for a bit and let the nine second minimum before he could use any other kekkei genkai pass. "Before we enter, I better make us some more weapons to replace what we lost in this test."

"Probably couldn't hurt." Isaribi agreed.

Naruto activated his Tetsuton and made the dragon, horse, and monkey hand signs. "Metal Style: Weaponsmith Jutsu." He thrust open palms onto the soil and sent his chakra into it. From the ground emerged three dozen kunais, a dozen shuriken, and some steel monowire. "That should take care of it." He said as he turned his tetsuton off. Each of them pocketed the new weapons, but only Isaribi gained the monowire. She used it more than they did after all.

"Ready?" Hinata asked. Her teammates nodded. "Let's go inside then."

The three approached the tower but didn't open the door right away, wondering if anything or anyone would try to stop them. When nothing did, they opened the door and carefully went inside. They saw a large open room with two staircases on either side each leading to a stretched balcony, possibly for viewing purposes.

"So what do we do now? I don't see anything." Isaribi complained as they walked towards the center.

"Hey, what's that?" Naruto asked, pointing towards the far side of the room.

On the wall there appeared to be an inscription written out on a wall scroll. Isaribi started reading it out loud. "If Heaven does not exist, enrich your knowledge and prepare for the chance. If Earth does not exist, run the fields in search of an advantage. Open the series of Heaven and Earth, and the perilous way shall be redressed. This is namely the secret of the 'one that guides'."

"Okay, any idea what that means?" Naruto asked. "Something tells me we're not supposed to take that literally."

"Hmm..." Hinata thought it over. "It mentioned Heaven and Earth, just like the scrolls we acquired do. And it says 'open the series'. Maybe they have some connection to this message."

Naruto pulled both scrolls out and held them before himself. "Should we open them and find out for sure?"

"The proctor said not to open them, but now that we're here I'm not sure what to do about it. You'd think there would be someone here waiting to retrieve them or something." Hinata answered, then she activated her byakugan again. "That's odd. There are several Konoha nin in other parts of this tower that are just lounging around, as if they're waiting for something. And I don't see any other genin teams here. We may be the first."

"Gravity Control gave us a good speed advantage." Naruto commented. "Should we find someone?"

Hinata shook her head. "That could reveal my byakugan if we just inexplicably knew where to look."

"Oh for crying out loud." Isaribi moaned as she took the scrolls from Naruto. "Let's just open them and see if that changes anything. We followed the rules so we shouldn't get disqualified for this." Before they could stop her, she broke both seals on the scrolls and unfurled them.

"Huh? What's that?" They all asked when they saw the contents for both, which appeared to be a complex seal diagram. Then both diagrams started emitting thick smoke clouds, making Isaribi drop them and back away. 'Oh crap, I hope I didn't make a big mistake just then.'

The smoke cleared and there stood a person atop the two discarded scrolls. He appeared to be a chuunin of Konoha with a pineapple hair style and a scar across his nose. "Whoa, I'm surprised to see someone make it here so soon. I was expecting one more day at least." He casually claimed. All three Oto genin got into a defensive stance. "Relax, my name's Iruka Umino and I'm here to tell you three you passed the second test."

"Good. So now what?" Naruto asked as they all relaxed.

"Since there's still plenty of time left in the test, you three can relax until the deadline at noon three days from now, as long as you stay in the tower. When the deadline comes you and all other passing genin must here in this room to be considered eligible for advancement to the third round."

"Will we be given a reminder on the fifth day to be here on time? It's common courtesy." Hinata asked.

Iruka nodded. "Yes you will. Why do you ask?"

"Just a precaution." Isaribi answered.

Iruka nodded. "In any case, take this time to unwind. There are rooms provided, which teams will have to share despite differing genders so we can keep track of the numbers easier, and food, hot water, and medical treatment if needed will be provided for the next few days. Think of it as our way of congratulating you for getting this far and showing hospitality to guests in our village. Just don't overindulge yourselves please."

"We can do that. By the way, I'm just curious, but are we the first team to show up?" Naruto asked.

"I think you are." Iruka answered with a hint of pride strangely in his voice.

Naruto smiled. 'Won't Konoha be upset to hear Oto finished first. But soon comes the true test of strength.'

"Hey, is there an indoor pool or something here?" Isaribi asked.

"Yeah, there's a small one. Swimming is the best exercise after all." Iruka told her.

"You brought your swimsuit on this test?" Naruto asked in disbelief.

Isaribi smiled and winked. "Nope."


	47. Friendship

Ch. 47 Friendship

"C'mon, Naruto-kun. You promised." Isaribi said as she tried dragging her reluctant teammate down a hallway, with Hinata just watching with a small frown.

"No I didn't! You asked me but I never gave an answer!" Naruto semi-shouted.

"What's wrong Naruto-kun? Does the idea of swimming with me _au naturale_ really disgust you?" Isaribi asked, sounding a little hurt.

"What? I'm not disgusted!"

"Then why the fuss?"

Hinata withheld her desire to sigh. 'It's me, I know it. He's resisting because of me. In that case, I should do something to make him decide for his own sake rather than mine.' She then stepped up and whispered loudly into Naruto's ear. "What if I went swimming too?"

That caused the young man's man to go full-meltdown. Thoughts of Hinata and Isaribi both naked and sopping wet flashed thru his mind and he zoned out with a nosebleed and a smile.

"Nice one Hinata-chan." Isaribi commented at seeing the reaction.

"Thanks. I'm actually kind of glad we make such an impact on him."

The purple-haired girl nodded. "I wonder why he was so hesitant. I mean, he's a healthy boy with several girls wanting him intimately. Shouldn't he be more curious than this? I'm flattered he's trying to be noble, but there is such a thing as too far."

Hinata sadly nodded. "Maybe that's my fault. I don't think he's fully accepted the sharing idea either yet, and I haven't done much to help that."

"You two better. I mean, do you want to have all nine kids yourself?" Isaribi asked.

Hinata shook her head. "No, Okaa-san convinced me that option was a bad choice. My mind knows the harem is a good idea, but my heart isn't fully convinced yet."

Isaribi smiled. "Well a good bare swim should be good for you two."

Naruto seemed to regain his senses again, unaware of what the two girls had been saying. "Did I just seriously hear you two offer to go swimming... naked... with me watching?"

"Who said you would just be watching?" Isaribi teasingly asked.

"Yeah." Hinata added. "If we're treating you to a show, it's only fair you do the same for us."

Naruto just looked at them both in disbelief. "You can't be serious."

"Why not?" Both girls asked.

"What if someone saw you?" Naruto asked.

"Then you'd be there to kick their peeping asses." Isaribi answered matter-of-factly. Seeing his indecision remain, she applied the sad puppy eyes. "You mean you won't defend your girls from perverts Naruto-kun?"

Hinata added the sad puppy eyes too. "You wouldn't leave two helpless women to the mercy of perverts, right Naru-kun?"

'Damn, I can see why this is considered a kinjutsu.' The jinchuuriki told himself. "Fine, you win. But I know neither of you are helpless."

Hinata and Isaribi smiled, looking forward to this little activity. 'Finally, I can see it without needing the byakugan.'

"But no one finds out about this, you hear?" He sternly told them, making them nod.

* * *

A little later, Sasame, Haku, and Fuu reached the team and were greeted by a Konoha chuunin who told them to relax. Right now they were walking down the halls trying to find the cafeteria. "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse." Sasame muttered.

"I'd settle for a sandwich myself." Fuu commented.

"I just want to lay down and not do anything for a while. After a quick bite of course." Haku claimed.

They passed a closed door with a window on it, and Haku froze as she happened to see what was on the other side. Sasame and Fuu kept walking until they noticed their ice-using teammate had stayed behind. "What's up?" Fuu asked.

"Naruto-kun, I think." Haku answered, her eyes never leaving the window.

"What?" The other girls asked then looked for themselves, gasping at what they saw.

There was a pool in the room, Olympic-sized, with three people inside the water. And it was clear that the two girls were topless and not trying to hide it that well. The one boy in the water was most likely Naruto, since Hinata and Isaribi were recognizable, but it couldn't be determined if he was bare or not from their viewpoint.

"Are they really doing that?" Sasame asked in disbelief.

"Only one way to find out." Fuu said before she opened the door and walked inside. The sound of the door opening instantly caught the swimmer's attention and the two girl's hid themselves under the water. "Having fun Naruto-kun? I'm surprised you didn't invite us too."

Haku and Sasame entered too, blushes on their faces almost matching the ones on Naruto, Hinata, and Isaribi. The newcomers couldn't help but look at Naruto, who positioned his hands underwater to cover himself, letting them know he was bare too.

"Mind if we join you? We agreed to share him too." Fuu asked as she got ready to take her own shirt off.

"Would it matter if we said no?" Isaribi asked, her blush fading.

"Nope." Fuu replied as she tore her red pack and white shirt off, much to Naruto's surprise and excitement. Then she took off her skirt, but slowly removed her bra and panties, keeping her eyes on Naruto as she did her striptease. She then jumped into the water, splashing everyone in the process.

"You coming in too?" Hinata asked the other too.

Sasame and Haku shared a look. "Why not?" Haku said before she started taking off her own clothes, a bit slower and more bashful than her green-haired teammate had been. "You joining us Sasame?" She asked after she removed her top but saw her orange-haired teammate hadn't done anything.

"Don't be a party pooper Sasame." Fuu said as she treaded water.

"S-sorry, but I'm really hungry so I'm going to have to pass." Sasame nervously replied. "M... maybe next time though." She then left the room.

Haku shrugged as she finished undressing and waded into the water. "She must really be hungry to turn away this opportunity. Or just shy."

"So much for no one finding out, huh Naru-kun?" Hinata whispered to her boyfriend.

"Yeah, and now all the other girls will want to try this with me." He replied.

Fuu engulfed him in a 'cushiony' hug. "And what's wrong with that Naruto-kun?" He froze up but didn't fight to get away. "Honestly you'd think a guy with nine girlfriends would be more open to explore things like this."

"Yeah Naruto-kun." Isaribi agreed. "If we approve then what's the harm? You're not dishonoring us this way."

Naruto was released so he could answer. "I'm just having a hard time believing you girls are really doing this. I figured it would be years before you let me see your bodies like this."

"Didn't you ever use your Neo-byakugan to take a look under our clothes?" Hinata asked. He shook his head negatively. "Naru-kun, relax. I... _we_ all care deeply for you and like knowing you find us attractive and sexy. Don't be afraid to show it so often, for _all_ our sakes."

"I know. I just don't want to go too far." He told them all.

"We won't." Isaribi reassured him with her own cushioned hug. "But in the meantime, let's have some fun."

* * *

Noon on the fifth day came, and the second portion of the chuunin exams was officially over. Teams had been coming to the tower over the past few days little by little. Naruto, Isaribi, and Hinata stood in the entrance room to the tower along with other teams. They recognized Sasame, Fuu, Haku, Kin, Zaku, Dosu, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro right away. They also saw Sasuke, Sakura, and Kiba, along with three other unrecognizable teams from Konoha in the room with them. Although apparently one of them was a Hyuuga, which unnerved Hinata a small amount.

'Hmm... four teams from Konoha, four teams from elsewhere, making twenty-four passing genin total.' Naruto noted. 'I wonder what the third part will be and, if Subsonic is right, how it can be rigged.'

All the genin, some looking more worse for wear than others, stood in the room as Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage, entered the room dressed in his robes with a pipe in his mouth. Naruto and Hinata did their best to avoid glaring at the old man, having heard many horrible things about this seemingly gentle old man who ultimately endangered some lives for his own sake. The eight jounin who taught these teams, being Anko, Kabuto, Kurenai, Kakashi, Asuma, Gai, Genma, and Baki were already there, having been informed their genin made it this far, and watched from the balconies above, among a few other jounin from Konoha to stand guard for the hokage like Ibiki and Yugao.

Sarutobi cleared his throat before addressing the genin, who moved into a neatly arranged grid, with teammate being near teammate. "Congratulations on making it this far, all of you. I'm impressed that such a large number got thru the Forest of Death this time. Usually the numbers we get are single digit. And I'm impressed so many of you are first timers. Your senseis should be proud."

"Before we head onto the third part of the exam, there's something I'd like you all to know." He continued, making the attending genin a bit more curious, even the Oto ones. "It concerns the true reason we have these tests."

'The true reason?' Many asked themselves.

"Why do you think all our nations take these tests together in a partnership?" Sarutobi asked, pausing briefly to see if anyone could answer, even if wrongly. None bothered to, so he explained it. "The official reasons are 'to promote friendship between the nations and to raise the level of the shinobi of each'. However, there's more to it than that. This exam is in fact a replacement for war between the Five Great Nations."

A few eyebrows were arched in the young audience. "What does that mean?" Tenten quietly asked herself.

"If you look back in history, you'll see most wars, be they big or small, happened between the Five Great Nations, with the smaller ones occasionally getting caught in the middle. After the Third Great Shinobi War, the nations decided to seek an alternative to the wasteful and inconclusive warring. Their agreement ended up creating the chuunin exams."

"So is this for deciding who's a chuunin or not?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah, this test does determine who's fit to advance to the next level of the ninja ranks and who isn't. However, there's another side to this test." Sarutobi answered. "Each country's shinobi risk their lives to get their job done and show how strong and effective their ninja are. By doing so, they're making their country's look the most effective at what they do. And that pleases clients."

"Clients?" Sakura asked herself.

"The third exam will have many witnesses watching. Among them will be daimyos of various lands and several influential individuals, all from which a ninja village get the work they need to make money. If the strength of a country is clear, that country will get more business and more income. And if the country is viewed as weak, they will lose business. It will send a message to clients and other villages that one village is stronger than another, which will help the economy and hopefully discourage any unnecessary bloodshed between villages."

"But why do we have to fight with our lives on the line just to pad other people's wallets then?" Kankuro asked with a small amount of irritation in his voice evident.

Sarutobi took another hit from his pipe before answering. "The strength of a country is shown in the strength of it's hidden village. And the strength of the hidden village is shown in the strength of the shinobi it produces. And the only way to determine a shinobi's true strength is in a life-threatening situation." Realization dawned on many of the genin's faces. "Anyone can be a marksman when the target doesn't fire back, and anyone can be a winner when there's no risk involved. A true test of power and talent comes when the other side is just as determined to win as you are, and maybe a bit sneakier too. Only then can you say you truly have what it takes to be called strong. Other times, you're just lucky."

'I hate to say it, but he's right.' Anko thought.

"This exam is set up to test how sharp your skills are when you really need to use them, and for countries to see each other's strengths. If your lives weren't at risk, then it would be nothing but a talent show."

"But then, why say it's about establishing friendship if we have to fight like that then?" Ino asked as she raised her hand up to be noticed better.

"I was not lying, but you may have misinterpreted my words." The Sandaime told her. "Risking lives is a fact of the shinobi lifestyle. That is a key part of friendship and trust in the ninja lifestyle. It's much easier to trust someone and be their friend once you've risked your life and seen they're willing to cover your back for you."

'Makes sense.' Sasame thought, among others.

"Now, before we begin the third round, I'll tell you one more thing." Sarutobi added. "This is not just a test. It is a life-risking battle. Where your life, your future, and your village's honor on all on the line. You have much more to worry about than just whether or not you get promoted to a higher rank. Is that understood?" He saw all genin nod. "Good, now to explain the third test itself." He made a 'come here' motion with his hand towards the balcony to his right.

A Konoha jounin appeared before him and kneeled down. "'Cough'... I will continue from here if you wish, Hokage-sama."

"By all means, Gekkou-san." Sarutobi told him.

The jounin stood up and turned around to face the gathered genin. His hitai-ate was modified to cover his whole scalp, leaving parts of his brown hair to hang from under it. His skin looked a little pale and he had dark shadows under his eyes, making him look tired or unhealthy. "Hello everyone, I'm Hayate Gekkou, referee of 'cough' the third test. Before we start, there's something I need to tell you all. 'Cough'" His voice sounded strained, like he was close to losing it.

"He looks like he should be in a hospital.' Hinata commented.

"What I need to say is that we're going to need a preliminary round before the third exam starts, 'cough' to decide who gets to participate." Hayate told them.

'Preliminary round?' Naruto thought, remembering Subsonic's warning. "Why do we need that?"

"Yeah, why can't we all pass? We made it this far after all." Shikamaru added, a bit angry at the idea.

"Because this year we have too many genin making it this far." Hayate answered, pleasing no one with it.

"So how is that a bad thing?" Temari asked.

"Like Hokage-sama said, many people will be visiting to 'Cough cough' observe these upcoming matches, for both business consideration and entertainment. In past years, we've always scheduled and arranged the matches to take up only a few hours. 'Cough' Too many participants means the third test will take up a lot of time and could end up boring the clients and risking future business. So we have limited time to showcase the third exam thus we need 'Cough' closer to ten participants, not twenty like we have now. The rules state we must have a preliminary round now to thin the numbers down." Hayate told them.

"Hey, if a lot of people are coming here from other places, taking long trips to do so, wouldn't it be more worth their time and effort to host a long round rather than a short rushed one? I mean, if I were a client coming cross-country for entertainment I'd be more eager to do so for two hours worth instead of just one." Naruto suggested, making several other genin, even Konoha ones, nod in agreement.

Hayate shook his head. "Sorry kid but rules are rules and we're already 'cough' scheduled for the third round so we can't fit twenty-four genin trying to get thru it. Like it or not, we need to reduce this group in half. Cough''

Naruto frowned. 'Yeah and I bet I know which half they want removed.'

"So anyway, the preliminary round will begin in a few minutes. Anyone who feels 'cough cough' they are not up to fighting within the hour should quit now and walk away, hoping for better luck next time."

"What? We gotta do this now?" Kiba asked.

Hayate nodded. "The prelims will be one-on-one fighting in a free-for-all manner with no time limit, 'cough' and they will be done right after we get this discussion over. So if anyone feels they simply don't have the energy to go on right away, then raise your hand and drop out. Oh, and at this point, only individual skills 'cough' will be tested so one person can drop out but the rest of the team can continue on without harm."

He paused for a while, but no one offered to drop out. "Very well then. We shall move from here to the arena in the tower and begin a series of 'cough' one-on-one fights, where both participants must fight as if in a real life confrontation. Since we have exactly twenty-four participants, we will have twelve rounds. Still a little more than we prefer, but enough to squeeze by, and the winners 'cough' will advance to the third round. The battles basically have no rules, so victory is gained by either death or surrender in the other genin. And I'll jump in and 'cough' declare a victor if I feel the fight's going too far. Now, let's proceed to the arena."

A few minutes later, everyone was in the fighting arena with a large bust of two arms making a ram sign on one of the walls. The jounin were up on the balconies again and the genin were down on the arena floor with Hayate. "The matches will be selected randomly on the 'cough' monitor overhead. We've had time to enter all your names in the random generator program so we wouldn't need to input them now. The selected genin will need 'cough' to come down here and await my signal to start while all others must wait on the balcony until their turn or to await the end of the prelims. Medical help will be provided to those that need it. Now, without further 'cough' ado, let's get started and see who's in the first round."

All eyes went up on the monitor, which buzzed to life and had several characters randomly and very quickly flash on it. After four seconds it came to a stop and the first match was declared.

'Isaribi Meikai vs. Sasuke Uchiha.'


	48. Advantages

Ch. 48 Advantages

"Ok, will everyone except those with their 'Cough' names declared please leave the arena floor?" Hayate asked everyone.

The group of genin split up and headed for the viewing alcoves, the four Konoha groups heading for the one at the east side of the room and the three Oto groups and solo Suna group heading for the west side alcove. As they left, the two remaining genin each heard something from a passing teammate.

"Good luck Isaribi-chan, but remember, Subsonic has plans for this guy." Naruto told his purple-haired partner, who nodded.

"Show everyone how good you really are Sasuke-kun." Sakura casually told her emo avenger, almost sounding like she herself would be judging him too, which made him frown a bit.

When all nonparticipants left the ground level, Isaribi and Sasuke stood facing each other at opposing sides of the room. Hayate stood off to the side near the arms statue. Isaribi quickly looked over her foe. 'From what I've heard this guy was considered the strongest in his class, but only because some genius in this village thought he'd throw a tantrum and leave if he was anything less. So he's probably not that strong, but I'm not going to assume he's feeble. And if what Subsonic told me is true, then I may have to use my non-mark trump card early to finish this quickly.'

Sasuke looked over her as well. 'I know I saw this girl back in Wave. So someone in her group, maybe even her, was the one to take my sharingan away. And not only that, but she has this strange dark chakra she can use. I better fight her as if she was Itachi if I want to see how good I really am against someone like her.'

"Are both contestants ready?" Hayate asked. Both nodded and the jounin raised his hand. "Then... begin." He quickly dropped his hand and left the area.

Sasuke took a stance but didn't make any move to attack. The Uchiha were by nature copiers and it was much easier to copy someone when you let them make the first move. Even though he didn't have his sharingan anymore, this behavior was set into his mind from years of practice in the Uchiha style of fighting. He would await her attempt to strike, then counterstrike and from there do as he pleased to win.

Isaribi took her own stance. She grabbed a pair of trench knives much like Asuma used and held them before herself arms crossed, right in front of left, and shifted her legs so most of her weight was supported on her right leg in back.

Kakashi looked on at the Oto kunoichi curiously. 'Wait, I'm sure I've seen that stance before. But where?'

Knowing she had to make the first move, Isaribi charged at Sasuke who dodged to his right. Almost instantly, Isaribi slammed her left hand on the floor and spun on it to make a swinging arch kick from behind, her right leg out straight and her left leg bent back. This kick hit the Uchiha in the side rather forcefully. He grabbed her leg before she could withdraw it from his reach, but she countered by snapping her left leg forward to hit his own and offset his balance. Sasuke didn't fall over, but he released Isaribi's leg and allowed her to backflip away to get some distance.

'Weird, she has weapons but she didn't use them. And she moved like she knew I was going to dodge. Like I was _supposed_ to dodge.' Sasuke thought, analyzing the situation. 'She hit the bottom of my ribs with that kick and it still stings. I better try some ninjutsu to keep her at bay.'

Sasuke performed the horse and tiger hand signs. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu." He then exhaled a fireball the size of a person towards his opponent, more to see her reaction than actually defeat her.

Isaribi surprised him and a few others by running towards the wall behind her, and rebound-jumping off it and over the fireball. While in the air she pulled a scroll out of one of her pockets. "You know how they say 'Fight fire with fire'? Personally I prefer to fight fire with water." She landed, bit her thumb, and smeared the blood on a storage seal in the scroll.

Tenten watched it with much curiosity while Kakashi was now almost sure he recognized Isaribi's fighting style.

From out of the seal came a huge amount of water, gushing out like a fire hose. Sasuke instinctively backed up to avoid getting wet, but Isaribi didn't appear to be aiming the water, just letting the seal empty. Since there were no drains in the room, the water continued to rise very quickly, reaching Sasuke's knee level within twenty seconds and still showing no signs of stopping.

"I knew it." Kakashi told him.

"Knew what sensei?" Sakura asked.

"That girl's fighting style originated in Land of Water. It's called Assaiotaki, the Crushing Cascade Taijutsu. It's designed so the user's movements mimic the nature of violent water. The fighter can make a heavy impact yet remains nimble enough to keep moving after any hit or miss. Accuracy must be sacrificed for the sake of maximizing damaging impact." Kakashi explained. "So whenever she attacks, she's more focused on how hard she's hitting rather than where she's hitting."

'But how could someone who's clearly not a Kiri nin even know this style? I only know of it thanks to my past experiences.' The cycloptic jounin asked himself.

"Then there's no problem right? Sasuke-kun's too tough for her to hit." The pinkette claimed/asked.

"Normally, but there's a reason she brought all that water with her Sakura." Kakashi told his student, making her wonder what he meant. "Assaiotaki was designed so that Kiri nin could fight both in and out of water. In a watery environment like a sea or lake, they have a really big advantage. Sasuke's going to have a real tough time now."

The water finally came to a stop, but the entire room was more than halfway full of water. Apparently the door into the room was sealed at the bottom and edges so water couldn't leak out that water with it being closed. Sasuke tredded water but looked at Isaribi in a mixture of awe and anger when he saw her calmly stand atop the water.

"What the hell? How can she stand on water like that?" Sakura asked.

Everyone who heard her, minus Kakashi and Kiba, gave her an 'Are you serious?' look. "You mean you don't know the Waterwalking technique?" Ino asked.

"You mean anyone can do that?" Sakura asked, genuinely surprised by the mere notion.

Genma, the sensei for Team 8 of Konoha, gave Kakashi a bothered look. "Kakashi-san, you mean to tell me that you actually nominated your team for this exam without even teaching your students that?" He could tell by Sasuke's emergence in water that the Uchiha didn't know it either. "What the fuck were you thinking?"

"I thought this would wake them up to the realities of the shinobi world, let them see the world isn't going to act like their dreams are the only ones that matter." Kakashi defended himself.

"Even so, that's pretty foolish, and I think you can be brought up on charges for knowingly endangering your genin students." Genma replied.

Meanwhile, as the Konoha shinobi were discussing amongst themselves, the fight between genin continued on. Isaribi took a breath and let herself sink under the surface. Sasuke kept his eyes on her, wondering just what she could do in all this water. 'She's yet to do a water jutsu, so maybe that's not the reason for this. Also, this tastes like saltwater. Why did she use saltwater?'

Isaribi got next to the wall and got ready to spring off it, the momentum vital to her next attack. "Tactic One Piranha Bite." She sprung off the wall with her arms forward, knives ready. Sasuke kicked his legs to defend himself when she got closer, but she still managed to make several cuts on the submerged parts of his body. "Tactic Two Shark Bite." She added as she swam forward and past him, turning around to attack him in a similar manner from behind.

Isaribi came up for air and Sasuke got to the wall. Unable to stand on the now-bloodied water, he put chakra in his feet to stand on the wall. It was tough to remain horizontal like that so he crouched down, keeping his eye on the girl. 'Damn, there's no way my fire jutsus can dry up all this water before she attacks again. And I'm betting she's got even more stored away.'

Isaribi swam to the floor and readied herself to spring from the bottom. She then clapped her hands together, making her trench knives held close like a two-point spear head. Sasuke saw this and knew he had to dodge or suffer a nasty wound. "Tactic Three Dolphin Bite." Isaribi said before she rocketed herself upwards and out of the water like a dolphin.

Sasuke jumped away from the wall and while upside down in the air he made two hand signs. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu." Unfortunately for him the Oto kunoichi dove back under before he could hit, making the fireball only damage the wall.

'Both seem good at dodging, although she's apparently better.' Kurenai thought as she watched.

Sasuke landed in the water and Isaribi looked ready to attack again. 'Think Sasuke, if I could just stand on the water like she did I'd be able to fight back. How do I...? Wait, maybe it's like the treewalking technique. Just put chakra on the bottom of my feet until I float. I've gotta try it.' Sasuke flipped over and came up for air. Once he was at the surface, he forced a lot of chakra into his feet, making his whole body rise quickly. After a moment he stopped and used the regular amount for treewalking, and it worked. But only for a moment and he sank again.

'Amazing. He almost had it with no instructions. Too bad he didn't know to modify the chakra flow to match the ever-changing surface of the water.' Kakashi thought, impressed with his student. He wanted to tell Sasuke how to perform the technique correctly, but doing so would count as interference and automatically disqualify the Uchiha. Also even if he could tell Sasuke how, it was highly unlikely that his student would be able to use it before his opponent continued her aquatic assault.

Seeing he could not stand on water right away, and seeing Isaribi another Piranha Bite attack, Sasuke thought up every countermeasure he could do, and reached one logical response. He sighed and looked angry with closed eyes. "Proctor, I forfeit."

"What?" Many people from Konoha asked. Considering how proud Sasuke was, forfeiting always seemed like the last thing he'd ever do.

Hayate reappeared and stood on the water, making Isaribi stop her preparations and come up for air. "You sure about that? 'Cough'"

Sasuke nodded, still looking upset. "I hate to admit it, but there's nothing I can do to defeat her like this. I'd rather deal with the humiliation of surrender than the humiliation of defeat."

"Okay, winner by forfeit Isaribi Meikai." Hayate announced, making the Oto nin cheer for their comrade. "Now could someone 'cough' please get rid of this water so we can have 'cough cough' our next match?"

"I'll do it." Isaribi said before pulling out her scroll and resealing all the water away back into it, leaving everyone in it unaffected but dry again. Once done she pocketed it and the arena was set for the next round.

"I gotta ask, why did you use saltwater?" Sasuke asked.

Isaribi shrugged. "No reason, I just had it available. I could have easily used freshwater too but oh well."

"Next match will be announced soon." Hayate told everyone as Sasuke and Isaribi left the fighting area.

Isaribi got a pat on the back from her teammates, unable to hug Naruto for fear of that being used against them later on. "Way to go isaribi-chan. Never a doubt in my mind." The young man told her.

"Thanks Naruto-kun. I'm actually a bit amazed he couldn't walk on water, though it's not like I could drag him under if he could." She replied with a smile, resisting the urge to kiss him.

Sasuke meanwhile was avoiding looking at anyone, except Kakashi whom he looked at angrily. "You should have taught me more."

"You should probably get those wounds looked at. You're still dripping blood." Kakashi responded.

Sasuke snorted. "Maybe I will."

"Ha! The Rookie of the Year, beaten up by a girl!" Kiba said mockingly, earning him a glare from his teammates.

"I hope you have to fight a kunoichi then Kiba." Sasuke stated before walking away to the infirmary.

The screen started working, and within seconds the next two names were displayed.

'Kin Tsuchi vs. Shino Aburame'

The two contenders received knowing nods from their teammates and went down to the arena. "Ready?" Hayate asked, awaiting any sign of wished delay and receiving none. "Begin!" He then left the area.

Shino made no effort to strike, so Kin chose to make the first move. She withdrew some senbon and threw them towards the Aburame, who easily dodged and noticed the bells attached.

'Odd, her throw was amateurish, as if she wanted me to dodge. As for the bells, the logical answer to having such a giveaway is she wants me to hear them. It must be a decoy or a set up for a grander tactic.' Shino analyzed, wondering how to respond. He stealthfully released a few bugs, few being a general term in comparison to the true size of his hive, and had them move to behind the girl without flying or moving in a large noticeable group.

'I'm glad Kabuto-sensei taught us a bit about the clans of this village.' Kin thought as she eyes a couple approaching beetles. 'This guy's part of that creepy bug clan. So he should be difficult to trick, but not impossible. Maybe I should test him with a lower rank genjutsu just to see how it works on his type. If it doesn't, I'll try something stronger.'

Kin threw a few more senbon with bells attached at Shino, who ducked and rolled to his right to avoid them. Kin quickly added another wave of senbon and Shino dodged again without rolling away. Two of the needles struck his left arm, making him wince and grab at the injury. He saw these needles had no bells.

'So that's why she had bells attached. She wanted me to hear them so she could later add a soundless attack at the same time when my mind was preoccupied. Clever, but it won't be effective for long.' He then noticed her fingers flexing a little in a pattern and got wary. 'I better finish her off rather than see what her village has to offer.' He sent a signal to his insects via pheromones telling them to proceed with the attack. However, his insects just laid in waiting. 'What's wrong?' Then he noticed there were six smiling Kins standing before him.

"Just noticed did ya?" The Kins cockily asked in unison. "I'm aware that insect central nervous systems are too simplistic to be affected by genjutsus, but the human central nervous system isn't. And even Aburame are wired the human way am I right?"

'So it's a genjutsu rather than a clone jutsu. That explains why I'm having trouble communicating with my hive. But when did she cast it? And how could I get caught in it?' Shino asked himself. One of the weaknesses of the Aburame was that they needed sharpened focused minds to effectively control their hives and the governing pheromones, or else they're probably be eaten from the inside out. That's the reason why they always acted so stoic, their physiology depended on it. Thus they were vulnerable to genjutsu since having their perception altered left their mind subconsciously unable to manage the hive. That's also the reason they wore sunglasses most of the time, to minimize the risk of being caught in a genjutsu.

He then noticed there were strings attached to the fingers of each Kin's right hand that were also attached to the belled senbon embedded in the wall behind him.

Kin just smiled, pleased with her work. 'Looks like he hasn't caught onto how I'm doing this. Genjutsu are mind-affecting illusions that use the senses as a means to access the central nervous system. Sight isn't the only sense that can be tricked. Kami bless the guy who realized sound jutsus work perfectly for genjutsu.'

Shino didn't like the situation he was in. He couldn't tell which target was real, his hive couldn't respond, and his opponent looked like she was waiting for him to make a move so she could counter it. Hoping it wouldn't be a wasted effort, Shino withdrew a tanto hidden within his right sleeve and swung it down upon the threads near him on both sides. 'I'm glad Genma-sensei gave me this for emergencies.'

With the threads cut the ringing from the bells stopped and Kin's genjutsu faded. Shino could now see just one of her and communicate with his bugs again. Now Kin didn't like the situation. 'I guess I should have just finished him off rather than testing him. This may cost me. Dammit.' The steadily growing sound of buzzing behind her made her nervous but not daunted. She performed five quick hand signs. "Ninja Art: Sound Epicenter." She clapped her hands together and a small sonic boom occurred, making Shino's bugs tumble and stop advancing. Even Shino felt a little disoriented from the shock with his ears ringing, while some of the observers felt some vibrations thru the floor.

"What was that?" Ino asked as she gripped the railing until the vibrations faded.

'Amazing. Instead of wasting her time on another genjutsu, she created a sonic boom all around herself to disrupt my hive directly. Attacking her is going to be harder than I thought.' Shino told himself. Thinking he was out of options, Shino grabbed all his kunai and started throwing them one by one with each hand.

Kin grabbed her own kunai and started deflecting them, the impact from the collisions causing her to take a step or two back still. She wanted to throw some of her own but Shino seemed to have no end of his throwing weapons. 'Guess I just have to wait till he runs out.' She thought.

Then Kin started feeling itchy and weak. 'What the...?' That was when she heard the buzzing sound again, and her eyes widened in shock. 'He distracted me and kept my hands busy long enough to tell his bugs what to do? Oh crap!' She looked down and saw her lower body covered in chakra-eating beetles and they were spreading. Fortunately at least Shino had stopped his kunai assault. "Get them off me!" She tried swatting them all off.

"It's no use. Those insects will eat your chakra within moments. You can either surrender and walk away with enough to feel semi-comfortable, or continue until you pass out." Shino told her.

Kin already felt the effect of the drain, causing her to fall to her knees. "I can't surrender. Not here, not now." With her remaining strength, she pulled out a shuriken and threw it at him and then fell to the ground completely. The shuriken simply grazed by Shino's left ear but missed him. He didn't even try to dodge.

Hayate eyed Kin for a moment before speaking up. "Winner by defeat Shino Aburame."

Shino recalled his bugs as medics came by to take Kin to the infirmary to recover. When he started walking away, he heard a small tearing sound and saw his hitai-ate fall off his forehead, with a cut on the left side of the band tearing right thru it and a few cut hairs falling with it. 'Interesting, even with her drained like that she came that close to hitting me. Had her aim been any better, I probably would have lost an eye right then.' He knelt down to retrieve it, wondering how long it would take to repair the headband and how good Kin's aim really was when she actually wanted to hit her target, then went back up to join his team.

"I hope Kin-chan's going to be alright." Naruto said.

"She will be." Kabuto told him. "The Aburame may be skilled at making their enemies go down quickly, but they rarely do long term damage to their targets. She's just going to need a good night's rest then she'll be back to normal."

The screen flashed and the next contestant's name were selected.

'Neji Hyuuga vs. Hinata Hibiki'


	49. Byakugans

Ch. 49 Byakugans

At first Hinata smiled when she saw her name on the monitor announcing her turn to compete. But that instantly turned into a frown when she saw the name of her opponent, and a growl in the back of her soon could be heard by those close to her.

Naruto heard the growl and made her face him, her expression immediately softening at seeing him. "Hina-chan, I understand your anger. So please, for me, don't go overboard with it. Use it if you have to, but don't go crazy."

"I'll try." She replied, and then walked off.

"What was that about?" Zaku asked.

"Let's just say she could not have been given a worse opponent." Anko told him.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. She'll have a hard time winning this one."

"Don't you have faith in your girlfriend man?" Zaku asked. Dosu was listening in on this with his teammate but stayed silent and watched the Hyuuga boy come down the stairs.

"Of course I do. But there's a problem." Naruto answered. "Hina-chan has issues with the Hyuuga clan. Because of that, she may let her anger get the best of her and that will affect her performance. Also, there's no way for her to fight him effectively without revealing her eyes, which _will_ cause problems for our village sooner than we want." Hinata was still wearing some blue contacts to hide the true color of her eyes, but she couldn't hide the bulging veins as effectively.

"So she can't win?" Isaribi asked, concerned for her teammate.

Naruto shook his head. "No she _can_ win. It'll be hard, but she has one big advantage here."

"What's that?" Zaku asked.

"Watch and see." The disguised jinchuuriki told the tube-armed boy.

Down in the arena, Hinata and Neji were staring each other down. Neji stood a little relaxed but completely attentive and ready to slip into his juuken stance and finish this. His expression was calculating and leering, as if dismissing his opposition as worth his time and effort but ready to get rid of them anyway. Hinata however was tense and anxious, her fists balled and her expression offensive and wary.

'She looks like someone eager to shed my blood. Too bad she's not favored enough to do so.' Neji told himself.

'I'd rather it be someone else, but at least I finally get to test my fighting style against one of these guys.' Hinata told herself.

"Ready?... Begin!" Hayate declared, starting the match.

"You should forfeit this match." Neji calmly yet strongly recommended to Hinata.

"And why the hell should I?" She asked.

"Because you're not favored." He told her, causing some confusion in many others that heard this. "There are millions of people in just the Elemental Nations. Maybe more beyond their borders. Do you really think the gods favor us all equally? They don't. Some people are more favored than others and get the best in life while others get lucky occasional or no luck at all. You are not one of the favored ones so you have little chance of defeating someone like me so why waste both our time?"

Hinata was silent for a few seconds but soon scoffed. "I'm not favored by the gods? Who are you to speak for them? You're not part of the clergy from what I can tell. And what makes you so damn certain they like you more than me?"

"I know I am because I was blessed with an impossible miracle thus showing the gods favor my life over many others. You cannot possibly measure up to that." He told her.

"If you don't even know me how can you be so certain of that?" Hinata asked as she slipped into her stance, not wanting to continue this discussion any longer. Rather than take the Hyuuga classic stance, she had been taught to stand like a kendoist without a sword and her hands stretched out like a Hyuuga would.

Neji saw this and got into the Hyuuga stance, ready to fight with his byakugan active. "This fight will prove it better than my words can."

"My thoughts exactly." Hinata said. 'I guess there's no point in applying a genjutsu to cover myself here. I'm actually kind of amazed he didn't notice me using my eyes during the written test. Maybe he had other things on his mind, or maybe he did notice and may or may not have told someone about me. Either way, I better get this over with quickly.' She then activated her own byakugan.

Neji's look of hostility deepened when he saw this. "Oh, it was you that I saw with my clan's eyes. How did you acquire them?"

"The same way you did."

"Then why are you not allied with Konoha like all Hyuugas?" Neji asked as he rushed towards her, eager to make her immobile but able to speak for a little longer.

Hinata rushed at him too and the two started exchanging blows. "The real question is why should I be allied with Konoha? And didn't you see the monitor? I'm not a Hyuuga! My name is Hibiki!"

Neji felt her chakra-covered fingers connect a few times but his did too. 'It will be over soon. I can hit faster so she can't possibly weaken me before I weaken her. Since she's not even from Konoha that means she couldn't possibly have the training needed to be good with the juuken. Bitch is probably a bastard child from someone who out-of-village who managed to have a one-night stand with a Hyuuga and somehow kept the pregnancy secret until now.'

Hinata surprised Neji by jumping away from him to gain some space and then started poking her own arms and torso. So surprised was he, he failed to notice she was striking all the points he had already struck. When she finished, she smirked dangerously and went back in for the close-up fight again.

* * *

In the infirmary of the tower, Kin was placed on a small bed to recover by a medic nin and made comfortable. The medic, one who had just a moment ago patched up Sasuke, checked her over as someone else entered the room. "Anything interesting about this one?"

The medic shook her head. "Sorry Ibiki-san. My diagnosic just shows chakra depletion standard for an Aburame attack. She'll recover within the hour. Why would you be interested if you don't mind me asking?"

Ibiki stepped up to the bed with the resting kunoichi. "It's actually Hokage-sama who wants answers. He just asked me to see what I could find out on my own when genin from this new village had to go here. Y'know, see if I can get some information from them that could indicate any threats towards us."

"But wouldn't that be considered a violation of the International Chuunin Exam Laws?" The medic asked. Having someone from the T&I Department take a foreign shinobi into custody without legitimate reason would be open grounds for an international incident to arise.

"Not if we find something." Ibiki answered.

The medic wasn't convinced that easily. "But on what grounds do you have to justify this if forced to? Saying 'Because the hokage was curious' wouldn't work. It didn't work when the mizukage tried that approach years ago."

Ibiki gave the medic his trademark frightening grin, the one that says he was in complete control of your fate from this point on. "Who's going to force us to testify anything? If no one says a word about this, and her village is told she 'unfortunately suffered worse than expected', who's the wiser?"

The medic looked disgusted. "You mean you're going to-?"

Ibiki unleashed some KI. "Unless you want to lose your career and freedom on the charge of interfering with T&I work, you'll going to forget everything that you just heard." The medic nodded.

The sound of a door opening immediately captured the attention of the two ninja and they turned to see the approacher. In strolled a casual-looking Kabuto. "Hi." He friendly greeted with a small wave. "I'm the jounin of this girl's squad and I thought I'd check on her."

"I'm not sure how you can." The medic told him, still a bit fearful from Ibiki earlier.

"I'm a trained medic too. I'd just like to give her a look-over personally. As her sensei that is my right, right?" Kabuto replied.

Ibiki didn't look happy but tried to avoid downright glaring. 'Dammit, there's no way I can just make him leave without making him and the rest from him village suspicious. Once that happens, I won't be able to get anything done.'

Hearing no argument, Kabuto got next to his kunoichi student and looked her over, first without a jutsu then with the aid of diagnostic jutsu. "Ah, as I expected, just a strong case of chakra loss. A trademark of the Aburame clan if I'm right."

"And how do you know that?" Ibiki asked.

Kabuto was anything but intimidated by the scarred man. "The Aburame's have been part of Konoha for a long time. You didn't honestly expect that no one from outside the village wouldn't at least be aware of their skills did you? I mean, you must be somewhat aware of what a few clans outside Konoha can do, right?"

'Sound logic.' Ibiki thought, unable to find a hole in what Kabuto just said. But then he thought of a way to make the Oto jounin leave. "Say, shouldn't you be with your other students for their matches soon?"

Kabuto took a seat on a chair in the room. "Oh I already gave them a pep talk. My fellow jounin asked me to come here for any other injured genin from our village to see if I treat them since I'm the only medic in our group." He saw the interrogator still looked displeased. "There's no law against that is there?" He asked it more like he was joking.

"Oh no, jounin sensei have every right to check up on their injured genin in preliminary fights." The medic answered.

Ibiki mentally groaned. 'Thank you so much you fool. Now he'll never leave and we've lost an opportunity to find any threat to us.'

"Got any coffee?" Kabuto asked.

* * *

The fight between Hinata and Neji went on as strong as ever, neither side backing down. But onlookers started to notice something. Neji appeared to be sweating more and out of breath as he fought on. 'What's going on? How can she be wearing me out faster than I'm wearing her out?' He asked him as he gained some distance in hopes of briefly regaining strength.

Neji then bothered to notice the chakra at Hinata's fingers. He saw it was pointed, and that made him worry. The juuken of the Hyuuga was designed so chakra tips on the fingers could strike the tenketsu of the victim and affect the flow and access of chakra they had along with muscular mobility. When the chakra points were blunted, they closed the tenketsu and numbed the muscles; when the chakra points were sharp, they opened the tenketsu and stimulated the muscles.

Hinata didn't give Neji much of a chance to regain himself and continued her assault. Now Neji was on the defensive, something he hated doing because it made him feel weak. But he couldn't avoid it as he was feeling... 'drained' was the only way he could describe it. 'I gotta finish this NOW!' He told himself. "Eight Trigrams Sixty-four Palms!" He shouted as he started a last-ditch effort to remove her ability to fight back. He struck fast enough that Hinata couldn't block all the hits. "Two palms. Four palms. Eight palms. Sixteen palms. Thirty-two palms. Sixty-four palms!" He said as he counted down the strikes and sent her skidding back and away from him.

'Neji-kun looks really worn out. Even more so than after a normal work out. I wonder what she did to him.' Tenten thought as she looked over her panting, barely-standing teammate.

"So what's the big surprise here?" Zaku asked Naruto.

"Oh you'll see." He responded.

Hinata stood up and dusted herself off, much to Neji's shock. "Wow, not bad. But you could do better."

'HOW THE HELL COULD SHE BE SO UNAFFECTED BY THAT MANEUVER? IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!' Neji asked himself in shock and-to a small degree-horror.

Using one arm, Hinata struck several points on herself. Neji's byakugan saw she was reopening the tenketsu he had managed to close just seconds ago. She did look a little worn out too, but nowhere near as bad as he did. She then looked at him confidently and allowed herself to softly laugh at his expense. 'Smug bastard hasn't caught onto my fighting style yet. Good, cause that's how I'll beat him. He's under the presumption that since I have his family's eyes I'm supposed to fight like them and that's what he's prepared himself for. This guy's going down.' Her interior tone of voice clearly indicated she was enjoying this.

"Nice trick. Here's one of my own." She told him as she came back up to him. He tried to get away but couldn't move fast enough. What really worried him was that he now struggled to keep his doujutsu active and body standing, and that was before the approaching attack. "Five Trigrams Sixty-Four Needles." She then striked him much like how he previously struck her. In fact, to the unaware observers, it was an identical attack. But this time Hinata didn't announce how many hits she was making.

When she finished, Neji fell face-first onto the stone floor of the arena. The rest of Team Gai looked at this with wide eyes, having never seen Neji go down so fast. Nor expecting it to happen due to an attack so much like his own.

'Who is she?' Tenten asked herself in shock and awe.

'Neji's flames of youth have just been overpowered by her own. Maybe she could privilege me with a friendly spar sometime in the future.' Lee commented with interest and curiosity.

'Someone from outside the village has a byakugan and knows how to use it, albeit somewhat differently than Konoha's Hyuuga can.' Gai noted with complete seriousness. 'This could pose a major problem. And where there's one, there's bound to be more.'

"See?" Naruto asked Zaku.

"How did she do that?"

"Can't say. You never know who's listening." The disguised jinchuuriki stated.

Naruto of course knew the facts behind Hinata's fighting style. Years of practicing with her to use his own Neo-byakugan with only her mother to instruct them gave them a shared taijutsu. But it wasn't the juuken; no, this new style original to Oto was called the surudoken, the sharp fist. While the juuken made regular use of blunt chakra tips on the fingers to close tenketsu points, the surudoken made regular use of sharp chakra tips on the fingers to open the tenketsu instead.

To a Hyuuga, this approach sounded meaningless, but it did have its uses. Having the tenketsu forced open gave the victim an unexpected surge of chakra bursting from the body. This affected their chakra control and for all basic purposes made them 'bleed' chakra, and the more tenketsu forced open, the more chakra they bled. Until they reached the point where their control was shot and the added effect of using chakra for jutsus and movements while regularly bleeding some on the side forced them into a chakra-depletion state, much like a large loss of blood would feel.

This was what had happened to Neji. Hinata had forced open many of his tenketsu but he paid it no mind because he had been expecting her to close them instead. When he closed her own, she easily reopened them to keep her access to her own chakra. He did not, and with the continued use of his byakugan and juuken strikes along with the damage she had inflicted, Neji basically suffered much like he would have if Shino attacked him instead at a slow pace. This was also why Hinata was mostly unharmed by his Sixty-four Palm technique; he had less chakra than he thought and his control over it was unstable. He barely even created half the damage he tried to inflict on her.

Neji tried to get back up, struggling to get on his hands and knees, all four limbs wobbling as he pushed himself up. 'Dammit, I feel like... I'm almost out of chakra. What did she do?'

Hinata calmly walked towards behind Neji and swiftly kicked him in the crotch from behind, the position he was in making it quite convenient for her to do so. The Hyuuga prodigy instantly screamed in a high pitch and fell back down on the floor, clutching himself when he landed.

Kiba winced. 'Man, that girl just loves to do that. I pity whoever she takes as a lover.'

Hinata then came back to Neji's front and lifted his head up by grabbing his hair. "So you think the gods like you more than others, do you? Check mythology bub, even demigods and heroes had enemies and bad luck."

"Winner 'cough' Hinata Hibiki." Hayate declared before she could do anything more.

The aforementioned kunoichi smiled and released her grip on Neji's hair. Medics quickly rushed in and put Neji on a stretcher as Hinata walked back to her team.

"Attagirl. Loved the finishing move." Anko complimented.

Naruto resisted the urge to kiss her, aware she would already have enough eyes on her now. "You were great Hina-chan. Just don't use those feet on me someday please."

Hinata chuckled. "Of course not. There's no way I'm going to damage something I know I'm going to put to use later on."

"How much later on?" Anko and Isaribi asked and leaned in a bit to hear better.

Hinata didn't answer. Instead she just leaned on the railing next to Naruto and looked at the monitor to see the next name.

Anko leaned in too. "Alright, don't tell us. But be careful Hinata. Now that your eyes have been revealed, Konoha's going to be out for your blood. For this moment on you're not to be alone for even a second. I don't care if you have to share the shower with someone, you are _not_ going to be left unprotected from now on."

"Sure sensei." Hinata replied with a grin. "But that means you can't object to me showering with Naru-kun then." The mentioned young man struggled to avoid blushing.

"As your sensei, and as his older sister, I can." Anko claimed.

"Would you though?" Hinata deviously asked, toying with the woman.

"You think you're ready for something like that?" Anko asked.

"Oh I _know_ she is." Isaribi commented.

Anko arched an eyebrow. "Ok, what the heck does _that_ mean?"

"Shh... the next match is about to be announced." Hinata said, changing the subject.

Meanwhile, Sarutobi took a much longer than normal inhale from his pipe. 'The Hyuugas are not going to like hearing this.' The Hyuuga were downright paranoid when it came to keeping their bloodline under wraps. The Caged Bird Seal was proof enough of that, and they had raised quite a commotion over the time Kumo attempted to steal one of their own but got both the kidnapper and the victim killed in the process. In fact, that same commotion was what made Neji into the man he was today.

With Kumo unable to blame the death of their ninja on Konoha and thus unable to threaten them for compensation, and Konoha unable to prove that act had been a deliberate plan of the raikage, who denied he had ordered any such act, the two villages were forced into a standstill. However, the problem didn't end there. The first heir to the Main house of the Hyuuga was dead and within a week Hiashi's wife and second child were listed as dead, confirmed by Tsunade whom they had been taken to for medical treatment. Sarutobi tried to insist Hiashi remarry and gain a new heir for the sake of the clan, but apparently having lost his wife and two daughters took a heavier toll on the Hyuuga head than expected. Hiashi was seen the next day hanging from a noose.

With that, the Hyuuga council chose his twin brother Hizashi to become the new clan head and removed the Caged Bird Seal from his forehead. Neji had his own removed and he became heir to the Main house. The young boy never forgot his time with the seal and his father called this change and gained freedom a miracle, a blessing from the gods. Neji took that to heart in a wrong way and grew up with his assumed belief that in Heaven's eyes he was more worthy of experiencing blessings than others were.

'I'll have to deal with this after the matches here end. But one thing's for sure, that girl's not going to leave anyone's sight in this village from now on.' Sarutobi told himself, trying to plan how he could take her into custody legally. 'I sure hope the Hyuuga's don't say 'damn the law' and take matters into their own hands over this. I'd rather not risk war with someone we know nothing about. Especially someone who can drag the kazekage into this.'

The monitor buzzed and the next match-up was revealed.

'Temari Subaku vs Sakura Haruno.'


	50. Brutal

Ch. 50 Brutal

Down in the arena Temari and Sakura stood facing each other. Temari still had her fan strapped on her back, but could remove it at any time. Sakura had no visible weapons but her fists were untightly clenched. The pinkette looked up and saw that Sasuke, now sporting a few bandages, had returned from his patch-up in time to see her match. She softly smiled, but it wasn't her usual mindless fangirl smile for the boy.

Temari was being a tad bit more professional right then. 'So far there's no info on this girl. No ninja background, no area of expertise, no defining fighting style. That makes her sound weak and an easy target, but then again she did get this far. She must have some trick she's kept hidden from our sources and has to display now.'

'I wonder if Forehead really stands a chance here.' Ino thought, feeling a little worried about her semi-friend. Without her blind crush on Sasuke now, the platinum blonde hoped to restart their old friendship. But with Sakura still showing some devotion to the Uchiha, she hesitated to do so.

Sasuke himself just watched with disinterest. Kakashi pulled out his book and Kiba watched the two girls but unlike the others he looked interested in this match. 'I sure hope this turns into a cat-fight. Although something tells me that other girl is less likely to let that happen.'

"Ready? Begin!" Hayate announced.

Sakura swiftly unleashed a dozen shuriken at once, her aim not good enough for all of them to actually hit Temari. The Suna kunoichi used a set of metal guards on her forearms to deflect the throwing stars that actually would have hit her otherwise. Sakura then performed the basic clone jutsu and ran at her foe in hopes of confusing her long enough to land a hit.

Temari almost felt insulted by this strategy. Moaning, she pulled out her fan, without opening it, and swung it at all three visible Sakuras like it was a bat. The clones vanished and the original skidded away towards the arm statue. Temari then leaned against her fan and waited for her opponent to recover and retaliate, inspecting her nails as she waited.

'It's probably not a good idea to not take a fight seriously.' Fuu thought as she watched Temari act like this. 'But from what I've seen from this pink-haired girl back in Wave, I'm not too worried.'

Sakura got back on her feet, wiped a little blood off the corner of her lip, and stared at her hand where the smear was. "Look what you did you thug!"

"You didn't really expect to go thru life as a kunoichi and not bleed did you?" Temari asked. "Heck if I got a ryo for every time I bled during training or on the job I'd probably be able to buy some replacement blood from the hospital." It was a bit on an exaggeration but the point was valid nonetheless.

Sakura pulled out a kunai but didn't throw it. Instead she tried to rush at Temari quicker, hoping she wouldn't defend herself as well this time. Temari just struck her fist out preemptively and Sakura couldn't stop herself in time so she ran right into the fist and basically gave herself a punch in the gut. After impact Sakura fell to her knees and gasped to regain the wind knocked out of her.

Temari was starting to get upset over this display. 'Ok, either she's testing me out before she brings out the heavy hitter, or she got this far on luck and the effort of her teammates rather than actual skill.' "Is that the best you can do?" She asked tauntingly in hopes that her opponent would start to give her a challenge.

Sakura picked up the kunai she dropped after the impact and swung it to try and give Temari a gash on her calves. She managed to cut the girl, but the mesh on Temari's right leg weakened the damage for one wound. The Suna kunoichi responded by kicking the pinkette away, not creating much distance this time. Before Sakura could get up, Temari lifted her still-closed fan and jabbed it on Sakura's back, pinning her down.

"Listen Pinkie, I'm getting bored. I was training back when you were learning to tie your own shoelaces. So either fight me seriously with all you've got, or do us both a favor and surrender."

Sakura felt enraged by the twin comments that she was weak and should surrender this match. "I will not surrender! I was the top kunoichi of my class! I got the best grades out of everyone! I can beat someone like you!"

"Prove it." Temari proclaimed with another application of force on the girl's spine.

Sakura let out a pained hiss and struggled to get away. She only did because Temari let her go in hopes of seeing her actually try something unexpected now. Sakura rolled away, on back on her feet and rubbed her back. She looked bruised, worn out and out of breathe, but still determined to continue.

"You've got spunk I'll give you that." Temari claimed. "But I'm guessing you're a thinker, not a fighter. That won't do you much good here. A good ninja is both, not just one."

"This coming from someone who's been fighting dirty?" Sakura venomously asked.

'You've gotta be kidding me.' Temari told herself. "We're ninja for Kami's sake girl! We don't fight fair! Do you think this is some mere schoolyard fight where the worst thing you can do is put bubblegum in someone's hair? Not that anyone would notice if I did that to you." She paused for a quick snicker then continued. "Well it isn't. Didn't you hear the old man or the chronic cougher? We're to go all out for these matches and treat them as life or death or else. Fairness has no place here."

"But do you have to be so rough? It's just a test after all." Sakura asked.

Temari groaned in utter annoyance. "You're an embarrassment to your village, you know that?"

Something about that statement sparked a new rush of anger in Sakura. Hearing it made her remember a few times when she had been angry. Like when Ami and her friends had ganged up on her all the time just before she met Ino. Or when Sasuke told her she was annoying after their team had been announced. Not to mention the time when her aunt Natsumi told her to just forget Sasuke overnight after years of practically shoving praise for the boy down the pinkette's throat.

All these times and more were instances when Sakura felt angry but suppressed it. She couldn't fight Ami's gang back for fear of losing, she couldn't allow herself to be mad at Sasuke even if he did offend her with his rude dismissals, and her sense of loyalty to her aunt made it hard for her to argue back. She ignored it all as best she could to prevent herself from ending up in an unfavorable situation, but Sakura still got mad at it all. Her best way to channel her aggression was in her tendencies to be loud and punch-happy when bothered.

And right now, Temari had triggered that very response.

"SHUT UP!" Sakura screeched, making Temari and several others cover their ears. "I AM A SMART, CAPABLE WOMAN WHO DOES NOT DESERVE TO BE TRAMPLED ON LIKE THIS! I DESERVE RESPECT, LOVE, AND THE BEST OUT OF LIFE AND I _WILL_ GET THEM, ONE WAY OR THE OTHER!" Then she charged forward to strike at the blonde kunoichi when her ears were still covered.

Teamri's hands may have been occupied, but her legs weren't and she tried a swing-kick with her left leg to block the pink banshee. Sakura stopped herself long enough to avoid the hit but continued after the leg passed. This time she managed to hit Temari with a fist in the left eye, making the Suna nin tumple backwards. "HA! TAKE THAT BITCH!" Sakura shouted triumphantly.

Temari rubbed her injured eye. "So _that's_ your ninja strategy? A few basic moves until you get pissed then beat the crap out of someone? Maybe you should have been a sumo wrestler instead."

Sakura went into another blind rage and tried to overpower Temari, but the blonde gave the pinkette an uppercut with her fan like she was swinging a golf club. Sakura took the full force of the hit and flew upwards and back a bit. She landed near the entrance of the room and almost passed out.

Hayate waited a minute for Kakashi's kunoichi student to stand back up, but she remained motionless. "Winner, Temari Sabaku."

The declared winner smiled with the praise she got from her teammates and friends. She turned to look at her downed opponent and came up to her. "Listen, do yourself a favor and either get some serious training or stop being a shinobi altogether. As you are now, your skills are pathetic and no one would respect you."

Sakura was practically foaming at the mouth over that bit of snide advice, but Temari just turned away without a care. Unable to coherently form any words, she got up as best she could and pulled out a kunai with a tag on it. She didn't care if this would go against any rules; she was already taken out of the test and her pride meant more to her anyway.

Sakura threw the tagged kunai at the Suna kunoichi's back. Hayate rushed to intercept, knowing this uncalled-for attack could cause big problems between the two villages. However, Temari turned around and swung her fan like a bat, sending the kunai to the ceiling. It embedded itself in the stone and the tag triggered, creating a flash of light and a surge of wind that would have knocked the girl off her feet had it actually hit her.

"Big mistake girl." Hayate told the pinkette as sternly as his could with his available volume. "The fight's 'cough' over. Continuing it will re-'cough cough'... result in a penalty for you."

"But she-"

"This is not debatable! 'Cough' Now get some rest. Hokage-sama will decide what to 'cough' do with you later." Hayate told her.

Medics came and took Sakura away while Temari went back to her team with an unhappy look. "What's wrong sis?" Kankuro asked.

"What do you think? I didn't even need to open my fan to beat her. This was such a letdown for me."

Naruto came over to cheer her up. "You did good Mari-chan." He used that nickname for her a lot in their letters as penpals. "Although it _was_ barely a challenge."

She nodded, smiling at him but still looking bothered by the lack of excitement she had been expecting. "I really hope the third test is better than this. Even if I have to fight you Ruto-kun. Don't go easy on me though."

"The other girls said that too." He replied.

The monitor started buzzing and the next fight was announced.

'Naruto Urashi vs Yakumo Kurama'

The disguised jinchuuriki was immediately crowded by his teammates.

"Give 'em hell Naru-kun. But don't give away too much." Hinata told him with complete confidence he would win.

"Win this Naruto-kun and I promise another round of skinny-dipping back home." Isaribi offered with a sexy smirk.

'Another round?' Anko asked herself. 'You've got a lot to explain, both of you.'

"I hope you get a better work out than I did." Temari commented.

Sasame, Fuu, and Haku each gave him a supporting wink.

Naruto went down to the arena and looked over his selected opponent. Yakumo Kurama turned out to be a young woman with long brown hair wearing a purple dress and a red mesh shirt underneath it and blue leg-coverings showing on the visible parts of her calves. A yellow clip was seen in her hair at the left edge of her bangs and a cream-colored pouch of some kind was strapped on her back, much like Fuu. The way she stood made her look as if she was ready but reluctant to be here.

Hayate coughed four times before he could say anything. "Ugh... I need some water. Ok, ready? Begin!"

Neither genin made a move right away, at least to attack. Naruto took the standard stance of toad style taijutsu while Yakumo looked defensive, as if expecting to be hit right away. She relaxed slightly when no such impact was felt, but her guard din't drop.

Naruto hesitated to fight only because he was still planning his own strategy here. 'Ok, apparently she's part of the Kurama clan. From what I remember, they're genjutsu experts with little skills elsewhere, with a kekkei genkai that few outside the clan even understand. I think I know how best to counter her, but I better do it carefully so Konoha doesn't get more curious then they already are.'

With a plan now made, Naruto pulled out a kunai with a paper bomb attached, lit it with his chakra, and threw it towards her. It landed in front of her but she managed to put enough distance between herself and the blast before it went off. As the smoke cleared, Yakumo reached into her pouch and pulled out something. Naruto was still covered from view by the smoke but she could see his silhouette and saw he had another explosive kunai almost ready.

"I'm not dealing with those again. Illusion Art: Great Pain." Yakumo said nervously as she held up what she was holding. An 8x11 inch painting of a right arm where all three bones in it were snapping like a twig. She channeled chakra into it and waited for her opponent to gaze upon it, which would trigger the result she needed to end this.

The dust cleared and Naruto looked at her clearly. Yakumo smiled, thinking this would be over soon, but she still held a look of regret for doing this at all. Then Naruto threw the bombed kunai at her, hitting the painting and making her drop it. She got away in time again and looked at Naruto in fright. That fright only got worse when she saw he had used his uninjured right arm to throw the kunai in the first place.

"Tha... that can't be. You shouldn't be able to use that arm now." She stated with a hint of a whimper in her voice.

"Sorry Kurama-san, but I'm prepared for genjutsus." Naruto told her, his Neo-Sharingan active but impossible for anyone to clearly see from their positions. All Yakumo herself could see was that his eyes were orange. "Your clan may have the best genjutsus in the world, but I've got an immunity to anything meant to take over my mind."

Up on the balcony, Yakumo's sensei Genma got curious and pale at hearing the disguised jinchuuriki say that. 'Immune to mental manipulation? Damn, Yakumo is completely overpowered here then. Her genjutsus may be the most effective in her clan, maybe even the whole village or world, but if they can't work on this guy for some reason then she's only got one way to win here. She won't like it, but it's her only option.'

Yakumo pulled out another small painting, this time one of both legs being broken like someone hit them in the knees and ankles with a sledgehammer. "Illusion Art: Great Pain." She placed her chakra into the painting and waited to hear the screams that should have come from the young man.

She heard nothing, and after opening her eyes which had fearfully clamped shut beforehand, saw no change in Naruto. "This is impossible! No one can be immune to my genjutsus. You should be on the floor wailing in agony!"

Subsonic's warnings about this situation flashed thru Naruto's mind briefly. The hidden agent made sure to warn him about all of the clan's techniques, as far as they knew of them. "Konoha's last clan is the Kurama clan. They are considered the least important, to the point where several in the village don't even recognize them. However, they do have some goods skills. They specialize in genjutsus and don't even need hand signs to use all of them. And they also possess a kekkei genkai which is rumored to make it so their genjutsus can actually become reality to the person they affect. If you ever have to face one of them Naruto-kun, you'd be better off using your Neo-Sharingan to prevent them from targeting you effectively. Your Neo-Byakugan might work, but considering the ability of your Neo-Sharingan to break hypnosis and mind control, you'd be safer with that one in use. Once you make a Kurama's genjutsus useless, if you can, then they should be out of options."

With that in mind, Naruto shrugged. "Sorry to disappoint, but apparently I'm not. Your drawings are good, but I'm a ninja, not an art critic. Show me something useful." 'If she doesn't need hand signs, then she must use those paintings as a substitute to make me see the genjutsus she's casting on me. And if she does have a kekkei genkai like Subsonic said, then right now my limbs would actually be broken instead of just feeling like they were. That's a damn useful technique, but without it what else can she do?'

Yakumo backed up against the wall, her arms nervously yet protectively in front of her. She was breathing heavily and started to sweat in panic. 'My genjutsus really don't work on him? What do I do? What _can_ I do? I'm not good enough yet to rely on Genma-sensei's defense methods.' Her vision started to blur. 'I don't think I can win, but I don't...'

After that, Naruto saw and sensed a... shift of sorts in his foe. Yakumo's posture went from 'I'd rather be anywhere than here' to 'You are going to die!' and her sensible chakra aura seemed to feel darker in nature. Her face even looked a little sinister, much harsher than the timid mouse expression it had been, and the way it was angled made shadows ominously cover her eyes. Her mouth formed a grin much like Orochimaru did when he had a great plan.

Yakumo threw the painting aside like it was trash and cracked her knuckles. "You want to see something useful you stuck-up son of a bitch? You've got it!"

'Yep, it definitely happened.' Genma told himself. 'This is going to be brutal.'

Yakumo moved her left sleeve to show a hidden senbon launcher and fired a wave of several dozen needles right at Naruto. Thanks to his Neo-Sharingan he was able to avoid them all in time by jumping to his right. And it was only thanks to those eyes that he saw her weapon contained a second wave that she quickly fired in his new direction while he dodged. Sadly there was little he could do in mid-air to defend himself except perform one technique he knew would just increase trouble later on.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu." He called out before he created ten clones that took the hits for him, allowing him to land unharmed.

'How the hell can a genin from another village know one of our kinjutsus? Let alone use it?' Sarutobi asked himself. 'This new village has a lot of explaining to do.'

With the smoke created from the shadow clones being killed, Yakumo couldn't take aim anymore. She decided to charge forward and snarl like a pissed-off Sakura would and readied her right fist. She saw Naruto reach for something but her fist connected with his jaw before he could pull it out.

Unfortunately for the painter, that was part of Naruto's plan. He expected a close-range strike with her inability to aim thru the smoke and took the hit to trap her. Before she could withdraw her fist, he grabbed it with his left hand tightly, catching her off-guard. His right hand then planted a movement-suppression seal tag on her abdomen and then flipped her up and over him like a judoist.

Yakumo landed on her back and found she couldn't move, only struggle. She glared and squirmed like a chained animal. "Release me this instant you piece of crap!" These seals didn't usually suppress vocal movements so the sealer could still acquire information from the victim.

'Something's gotta be wrong with her.' Naruto told himself as he looked at her while rubbing the sore spot she hit. 'You don't just go from 'Afraid of your own shadow' to 'Foul-mouthed berserker' in the blink of an eye. So either someone else is controlling her for this match or she's got a split personality. Only one way to find out for sure.'

With that, Naruto held her head to make her give him eye contact, his Neo-Sharingan taking effect right away.

Right away he noticed something wasn't quite right. While the Sharingan was designed to force a sort of mental lock on someone's behavior to a specific degree, the Neo-Sharingan was designed to remove any such locks and free the trapped personality from the forced control. So if there was anything in Yakumo's mind that was unwelcome and affected her behavior, he would find it and destroy it. But to do that, he had to actually enter their mindscape for a moment, much like Tsukiyomi allowed, and overpower the representation of the outside influence. He theorized the Sharingan worked similarly to create some control over another, but he had no way of proving it.

Once he was in Yakumo's mindscape, which was mostly a swirling mixture of dark blue, light blue, dark purple, and black in an empty void, he saw the girl chained face-down to the mental floor crying and struggling to get free. 'That proves she's not in complete control of herself now, but if she's being controlled by a genjutsu or something, then she could be mobile but controlled like Kankuro's puppets. Not chained to the floor.'

A dark chakra aura stopped Naruto from investigating the matter, but it may have answered his unasked question. This chakra took on the form of some sort of dark-skinned oni with Yakumo's hairstyle and similar but darker colored clothes. The fangs of this oni were easily bigger than Naruto's fingers and the horns spread out to the side of the head like a bull but less curved.

"Run! That thing will destroy you!" Yakumo cried out from her chained-down position.

"Go ahead and leave. I'll just go back to fighting you physically like before. Makes no difference to me if I kill you here or there." The oni told Naruto.

"So she's the real personality and you've somehow taken over for the time being?" Naruto asked this mental monster. "How?"

"Oh I'm real alright." The demon told him, brandishing it's claws to appear more threatening, one of which pointed at the frightened Yakumo. "I'm the other half of that feeble girl's mind, just as real as she is. Only difference is that I'm the side that actually wants to hurt and kill others, while that coward is the other aspect."

Naruto didn't look like he accepted this explanation. "That can't be the whole story. If that were true, then all of us shinobi would have split personalities like this."

The oni smiled, the fangs making it look all the more sinister. "You're right, but why should I tell you when I can just kill your spirit then your body?" The demon then thrust it's claws at Naruto, who blocked both attacks with a pair of kunais. He tried to hold the demon back but he felt himself being slowly pushed back.

"This is not going to be easy." He told himself as he pushed back as hard as he could.


	51. Id

Ch. 51 Id

Naruto knew he wouldn't be able to hold back this demon for much longer with just kunais. Sure, he could imagine himself with other weapons in this mental scope, but if he did that recklessly the oni could learn to do the same. Also he had to actually have the skills to use the weapon properly for it to be of any use even here. Having a sword wouldn't be any better if he didn't actually have the training to go with it. He did though thanks to Zabuza and Sasame, but the point still stood.

The great thing about a mindscape was that the limitations to what could happen were limited only by the imagination. This is what made jutsus such as Tsukiyomi and several torture techniques the Yamanaka knew so dangerous, especially since the host was more prone to pain than the invader was. The downside was that no matter how powerful and creative the jutsu user was when they invaded the mindscape, the target always had a homefield advantage since it was their mind. Only the weak-willed, uncreative, or those caught off-guard were forced into submission rather quickly. Someone of strong will or prepared for the jutsu would be able to fight back and resist to a point, a battle of creative wits being the deciding factor in who gets what they want.

This is what Naruto was experiencing just now with Yakumo's inner demon. The oni would be difficult to defeat, because of the homefield factor and the fact that this mental aspect surely looked like a monster for a reason. What that reason was, Naruto had no idea, but he'd have to be extra creative here. Fortunately for him, that wasn't a problem.

Naruto put a lot of force into his arms and turned his kunais to give the oni a few cuts on it's fingers. The mental monster withdrew it's hands for an instant and Naruto gained some distance to be on the safe side. He happened to stop by the chained-down Yakumo. "Just what is this thing?"

"It's... a monster." she answered, sounding ashamed for reasons Naruto didn't understand.

"I can see that. Why's it here?" He asked at the same time the oni pounced at him. Naruto blocked it with his kunais again but this time it wouldn't work for long.

"I told you! I am her! Or at least a part of her!" The oni told the disguised jinchuuriki before withdrawing it's claws and striking again from a new angle. But this time it looked like it was trying to punch Naruto, not tear into him. "The BETTER part that is!"

Rather than block the punch, Naruto back-flipped away from it. "You're still just a part though." He said mostly to antagonize the beast and throw it's game off.

It appeared to work a little too well. The oni glowed darkly as if it had a curse mark of it's own or Amaterasu flames self-formed on it's skin. The dark flame-like aura burst off the oni and moved towards Naruto like lightning would. Naruto may have found it fascinating if he wasn't on the intended receiving end of the attack.

'Crap, I don't think I can dodge it for long here. But maybe I can block it or overpower it.' Naruto told himself before his Neo-Sharingan eyes started spinning around. "time to fight fire with fire. Hell Amaterasu!" A silver flame emerged out of nowhere and formed a wall in front of Naruto, preventing the oni's flame from hitting him directly.

Like with Extreme Tsukiyomi, Naruto wouldn't be able to use mangekyo-level jutsu, but since he was in a mindscape he wasn't as limited in power usage as long as he didn't cause damage to himself. So he could use his other Mangekyo Neo-Sharingan technique, the Hell Amaterasu, here safely without Kyuubi's help. He was likely to suffer a bit when he left the mindscape, but he'd have to cross that bridge when he came to it.

Like the Extreme Tsukiyomi, Hell Amaterasu wasn't that different from the jutsu of it's inspiration. It created a flame that lasted for days and couldn't be put out by water or anything short of the caster canceling it out. The differences were that this flame was silver rather than black, lasted only two days rather than seven, and could be controlled in a way that was commonly known as fire-bending.

Unwilling to take the chance that the oni's flame attack had ceased, Naruto kept his fiery wall up but willing two arms to form on it's sides to branch out and strike back. Judging from the grunting sound the oni made, this caught it by surprise. Unwilling to get burnt, it got away from the flame and had to stop it's own attack. The silver flames didn't stop in return and engulfed it in a pyre-like manner.

When Naruto felt the attack stop, he moved the silver flame to stick close to him in a spiral fashion, like a twister, so it would stay available for later on. 'I still can't figure out what this thing is or how it's connected to the chained-down girl.' He told himself. 'If I could, then maybe I'd know how to handle this and win the match.' He then ran up to the captured Yakumo, certain she could inform him a bit more. "How do I get rid of this thing?" He asked when he got close to her.

"You can't. It's been inside me for as long as I can remember." She sounded so hopeless.

"But you're the dominant personality right? Not that creature?" Naruto asked. "You can fight back."

Yakumo gazed at the boy in shock. "You make it sound so easy. Every time that thing gets loose, I get trapped and shoved into a mental corner while it takes over my body and gets bloodthirsty. I can't fight back."

"Have you ever tried?" Naruto asked, sounding angry to ensure she paid attention. "I saw how you acted in our match. You were afraid to fight me and you were afraid to get hurt. Do you actually _want_ that thing to stay so you can hide in your own mind when things get too scary for you?"

"No but I can't get rid of it." She tearfully countered. "It's part of my psyche, a side effect of my kekkei genkai. It's the yin to my yang, the id to my ego, so you can't destroy it without destroying me."

In the distance the monster got free of the flames and looked madder than ever. "YOU ARE SO... FUCKING... DEAD!" It then ran up to Naruto with it's head down like a charging bull. Some of the silver flames were still stuck to it's skin and burning it. Naruto was able to get out of it's way thanks to the shout warning him and the fact it momentarily couldn't see where it was going.

The oni soon realized it didn't connect with it's target and stopped charging. It turned around, trying to swat away the Hell Amaterasu fire still, and flexed its claws in anticipation of shredding the boy to pieces.

Naruto just got an idea, a risky one but it would determine the possible weakness of his opponent. He reached down, held Yakumo's head up, and placed a kunai by her neck. "You attack me one more time and she dies!" His protective flames weren't touching her, but positioned so that at any second they could.

Both Yakumo and her inner demon froze. "No, please! You can't!" Yakumo said in sheer fright, trying to squirm free.

"What's your game?" The oni asked, trying to sound more confused than wary.

Naruto smirked. "If the two of you are connected, then logically you can't live without her."

"You could not be more wrong." The oni smugly stated.

Naruto just shrugged. "Fine. Let's see about that." He pulled back his hand with the kunai and got ready to jab it into her neck. Before he could, the oni started to run towards him, and then he stopped and smirked again.

'Dammit, he tricked me.' The oni told itself, realizing he had done that just to made it confess it was dependent on Yakumo living.

"Sorry about that. I just needed you to actually be afraid for a moment." Naruto kindly whispered to the panicked Yakumo. "But you shouldn't be afraid of that thing. It said it's a part of you, not you're a part of it. You ought to stand up to it and remind it who's really in charge here." With that, he placed his hands on her chains, made them glow orange, and tugged at them with intention to break, much like what he intended to do in the first place when he entered the artist's mind.

"You're not going to get away with this!" The oni proclaimed as it charged in to punch Naruto then rip his head off. Naruto sent out his protective flames forward to stop it in it's tracks and make it have to find another way thru. "Dammit! I will not lose to you!"

Naruto pulled and pulled, the chains being stronger than he anticipated. 'This must not be a genjutsu on her, but a self-imposed mental restraint.' He had to move the Hell Amaterasu flames to create a protective dome around himself and the chained down girl. "Tell me what that thing it so I can get rid of it and we can return to our match in the real world!"

"I don't know how to explain it exactly." Yakumo told him, her fear of him slowly disappearing now that she saw he was trying to help her. "In my clan, we have a kekkei genkai where we can make our genjutsus real to those we inflict on them, as long as they're physically possible. But it's a recessive bloodline so not everyone has it. It was my bad luck to be born with it functional."

"Like the Rinnegan or the Mokuton?" Naruto asked, having heard both kekkei genkai were, at least originally, skills that mostly skilled generation and even when active only activated in specific people or circumstances.

"Yes, exactly." Yakumo continued. "I can make my genjutsus reality for people, but I don't like the idea of hurting people like the kekkei genkai was intended for. I always wanted to be an artist instead, but I became a kunoichi for my clan's honor, thinking I could become a good one specializing in genjutsus so I wouldn't have to get blood on my hands."

"Noble ambition." Naruto complimented. He could hear the oni beating on the flames around him trying to get in. At one point the left hand got thru but pulled back just as quickly.

Yakumo smiled at the compliment, but it didn't last when she said more. "But something went wrong. In my training, the repressed part of me, the part that did want to hurt others, my id if you will, gained strength from my reality-altering ability and gained a life of it's own. It's the curse of my clan, the one with the bloodline in time gains a vicious personality with it. Normally the Kurama would know how to suppress it but mine caught them off-guard and..." She held back a sob. "It killed them all by starting a fire. I'm the only one left, and I'm forever vulnerable to my darkside because of this village."

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"My uncle survived and insisted on sealing away my, for lack of a better term, my id demon for safety reasons. But without another genjutsu expert in the village to verify his work, the council refused to trust his effectiveness."

"I know _that_ feeling." The disguised jinchuuriki stately offhandedly, only to catch himself too late. This time both of the oni's hands briefly got thru the flame barrier. 'I gotta hurry.'

The Kurama heiress paid it no mind for now. "Anyways, it was ultimately decided that since they couldn't guarantee my demon wouldn't attack again, the hokage used some people from outside my clan to make use of it as they saw fit. They placed a suppression seal on me that would keep it dormant but able to awaken in the presence of danger and my fear. And it won't be suppressed again until the danger passes or it tries to kill someone from the village. Sort of like a self-defense split personality. So if you really want to help me, leave here and go finish the fight until one of those things happen."

Naruto didn't move away, only continued to try and break the chains. "And leave you here so you can keep suffering the next time you get scared? I saw you in our fight. You were worried too easily because you chose to be dependent on one skill. That was your big mistake. Maybe if you had balanced yourself out or learned to cope with hurting others when the situation needed it, you could have suppressed it yourself."

Yakumo suppressed the need to cry her eyes out, but a few tears did escape. "You're right. Hindsight's 20/20 isn't it? But what do I do now?"

"Fight back. Stand up to the demon by being willing to handle your own problems. Prove that you're the one in charge here, not it. And if you don't mind, help me send it back to wherever it goes when it isn't controlling your body."

Yakumo stared up at him in awe of his courageous words and willingness to help her, despite the fact he didn't even know her. She couldn't imagine anyone doing that, not for her. The Kurama were barely acknowledged or respected, not even having a seat on the shinobi council due to the recessive nature of their kekkei genkai. Most Kurama had the same skills as other shinobi but with a better affinity to genjutsu, even if they lacked the kekkei genkai Yakumo had. Heck, she was the last of her clan and the only one among them with the power they were built around, and she still got no acknowledgment for herself.

The oni charged in thru the flames successfully this time, looking like some beast that just got out of hell and had yet to cool off. Naruto pulled his flames back in hopes of a single crushing blow, but the oni grabbed his neck with it's left hand and lifted him into the air. Naruto found it hard to breathe and the silver flames fell to the floor, still burning but unresponsive to his commands.

"I'm going to disembowel you slowly right here you dick!" The oni stated in pure fury. "Then I'm going to do the same to your actual body and dance in your blood." It used it's right hand to punch him hard in the stomach, making him even more breathless. "I'm going to turn your organs into dog food, your bones to splinters, and your worthless brains into putty. Maybe I'll even tear your skin off into little strips and use them to wipe my ass. What do you have to say about THAT?"

Naruto used his left hand to drive a kunai into the oni's right eye, making it howl in agony and release him. He regained his breath before answering. "I'd say you should just kill the guy instead of bragging about it first. And you have a pretty grotesque imagination even for a monster."

The oni pulled out the kunai. "You're right, no more talking, just killing!" It took a few steps forward, but the sound of snapping metal caught both of their attentions.

Behind the oni, Yakumo stood up and threw off the chains she managed to break free from, holding one of them like a whip. This time she didn't look cowardly, but rather determined to stand her ground. "If he can stand up to you, then there's no reason I shouldn't." She twirled her chain around and it started to glow as if super-heated, except where she held onto it. "This is MY mind! You will listen to ME from now on!"

"What the hell?" The oni asked in complete surprise.

Yakumo swung her chain and it wrapped around the mental monster, pinning it's arms at it's side. The chain started to burn it much like the Hell Amaterasu had, but this time it seemed to char the flesh under the skin too. It felt much worse. And to make it even worse, Naruto firebended the silver flames to add damage to Yakumo's attack.

"STOP THIS!" The oni screamed in horrible torment.

Yakumo's eyes glowed and a seal appeared on the ground where the demon stood and struggled. From that seal, even more chains emerged and tied down the monster. Then some metal poles burst out of the creature's feet like it had stepped on some large nails. The chains pulled the oni down on it's hands and knees, and two more metal spikes pinned it's claws down.

Yakumo released her burning chain, her eyes still glowing, and the oni started to sink into the ground. "Go where you can do no more harm you beast. And stay there. My mind, my body, my_ life_, is now off limits."

"You're nothing without me and you know it! I will get free someday. You don't have the pow-" The oni tried to claim, but it was swallowed up before it could finish. The glow on the ground and Yakumo's eyes faded, but the seal where the oni had stood remained.

Yakumo exhaled deeply in relief and collapsed to her knees. "Is it really...? Did I just do that?"

"Yeah you did. And I'm pretty impressed." Naruto told her as he cancelled out his Hell Amaterasu, making the flames disappear completely.

Yakumo smiled at him and shedded a tear, this time out of happiness. "Thank you so much. I could never have done that without you."

"No sweat. Now, what do you say we go back and finish our fight in the real world?" He friendly offered.

She nodded. "Yes, lets."

* * *

As expected, in the real world only four seconds passed with neither Yakumo or Naruto moving or saying anything. Before anyone could ask what was going on, they both jerked back as they rejoined reality. Naruto backed away and Yakumo got back on her feet. Naruto got back into a fighting style and awaited his opponent to ready herself. After what he had just seen, he felt she deserved a chance to show off how good she really could be here.

"Proctor, I forfeit." The artist told Hayate.

Hayate looked surprised, as did Naruto and several others. 'Another one forfeiting?' "May I ask why? 'cough'"

"This is one opponent I would rather not fight. I'm positive my skills aren't enough to have me win here and I'm willing to admit I'm outclassed. Better I escape and live to fight another time than risk too much harm to myself because I'd be afraid to look like a coward if I didn't. Isn't that how it should work in ninja fights?" She explained.

Hayate smiled. "That's acceptable. Many ninja 'cough cough' became martyrs because they thought running away from a 'cough' hopeless fight was a sign of weakness rather than intelligence. It's better to flee so you can 'cough' train to be stronger next time than to risk death over something like 'cough' a reputation. So winner by forfeit, Naruto Urashi."

'I get the feeling he was telling that to everyone, not just her.' Kakashi told himself. 'I hope my students understood that.'

Naruto held out his hand for a sign of good sportsmanship. "If it's any consolation, you were pretty impressive back there." He was surprised when she chose to hug him rather than shake his hand.

"Thanks. I owe you big. Let me know what I can do before you leave." She whispered, making him blush a little.

Meanwhile, Hinata was seeing red. 'Oh hell no! No Konoha skank is getting MY man!'


	52. Lucky

Ch. 52 Lucky

Yakumo went back up to her team since she wasn't hurt enough to go to the infirmary, but not before giving Naruto a parting wink and smile. Naruto had been around enough girls to know what that meant, and wisely didn't respond in an encouraging way. All he did was smile and wave. Then again, that might have been encouraging enough for her.

Naruto went up to his teammates. As he expected, Hinata gave him a frown, but not an accusing one. "Nothing happened Hina-chan. Don't you trust me?" He turned off his Neo-Sharingan, and felt his eyes sting a small bit and his vision go blurry. He expected this from using the Hell Amaterasu, although it would have been worse had he used it outside Yakumo's mindscape.

"Yeah I trust you Naru-kun. But not her." She told him.

Isaribi shrugged it off. "Don't be so quick about that. We do need a ninth girl after all."

Hinata turned her frown towards her purple-haired teammate. "I'd rather it be Hanabi in that case. Rule Number One of our little group: No Konoha girls allowed."

"Y'know, you were born in-" Isaribi started to comment until Hinata sharply cut her off.

"If you want to stay in the group you won't ever finish that statement!"

"Settle down you two. Don't draw attention." Anko told them with much authority, silencing them both.

Meanwhile, Yakumo was greeted by her own team. "Yakumo, I didn't expect you to just give up like that. May I ask why?" Genma, her team's sensei, asked professionally without judgment.

"It felt like the right thing to do under the circumstances." She told him.

"I see he appeared to have calmed you down right away." Shino stated with some suspicion in his stoic tone. He usually had to subdue Yakumo when her inner demon got out in uncalled for times.

"Yeah. In fact, I doubt I'll ever need calmed down again." The artist said with a smile.

This only made Genma more concerned. "He didn't hurt you did he?"

Yakumo shook her head. "Nope. He freed me instead."

"So you can still use your skills?" Yakumo's remaining teammate, a pale boy named Sai asked. She never really liked him, especially with his curiosity about her talents. Both kekkei genkai and artistic, and he didn't seem interested in the first in a comfortable way. Sure, she admitted he was a good drawer, but that was it.

"Yeah, but for now, no more mood swings hopefully. Like my uncle intended before those idiots butted their noses in where it didn't belong."

Genma blinked in surprise and even Shino and Sai looked like they had been lightly blindsided. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Yakumo thought it over. "Yeah, I'm fine. I guess my mind is... a bit more stable now that I'm no longer... only half of myself at a time. It feels good."

The monitor buzzed and the next two names were displayed.

'Kiba Inuzuka vs Sasame Fuuma'

"Hell yeah! Now it's time for the best to shine!" Kiba shouted confidently before he jumped over the railing and into the arena.

"Anything I should know about this guy?" Sasame asked, recognizing the dog nin from Wave but never having any interaction with him.

"Kick his groin and it's all over." Hinata offered, sounding a bit amused.

Sasame nodded and headed down, thinking over what she had heard about the Inuzuka clan. 'Okay, according to Kurenai-sensei this clan produces ninja that partner themselves with dogs and have their moves work in conjunction with them. Also they themselves have heightened senses of smell and hearing and tend to move like animals, specifically dogs. In that case, I think I know what to do. Slow him down or attack from a distance.' She then winced a bit. 'Damn cramps.'

Meanwhile, Kakashi was sizing up his student's opponent. 'So, a member of the Fuuma clan huh? From what I hear, they're native to Land of Rice. Is that where this new Sound Village resides? I better tell Hokage-sama this so we'll know where to look for whoever destroyed the sharingan in me and Sasuke.'

Kiba's thoughts were a bit more simplistic, but not downright simple-minded. 'Okay, I got a kunoichi like that jerk Sasuke hoped I'd get. At least I'm more likely to win with my skills still intact. But if she's anything like the other girl with that symbol, then I'm glad I wore a cup this time.' His nose then caught a peculiar scent. 'Blood? She's bleeding? Oh, it must be that time for her.'

Remembering what he knew from sparring with his own sister and mother, and at least once his teammate Sakura, Kiba knew that kunoichi on this particular part of their cycle were like a double-edged sword. The hormones added to their aggressiveness and strength in their hits, especially when the target was a male. The downside, they themselves often lost a little of their focus when aggravated and they would feel some discomfort in their abdominal area which would affect their movements. Kunoichi had a standard relief jutsu to minimize the discomfort a bit so they could still be effective, but it usually only lasted a few hours at most. The brief look of pain Kiba saw on Sasame told him she had cast it on herself already but it was losing effectiveness by now.

"Ready?" Hayate asked, and got no objection. "Begin!"

Sasame pulled out four smaller-than-normal kunais and threw all of them at Kiba. He ran towards her at the same time but with his body hunched forward so two kunais easily missed him while two each hit a shoulder. He ignored the pain and made a hand sign. "Beast Mimicry!" With that, his body looked a bit more feral and moving on all fours was easier for him without losing any speed.

"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu." Sasame said after two hand signs and placing her palms on the floor. A pit opened up right where Kiba was about to be to trap him in the ground, but he jumped over it and avoided capture. The pit closed and Sasame pulled out a wakizashi when Kiba got close enough to attack. Rather than face her head-on with such a weapon, he and Akamaru leaped over her and used the wall behind her to rebound off of and try to attack from behind.

"He's too fast to catch with most earth jutsus." Kurenai told herself. "She'll have to start out defensively for that to work."

Sasame made the ox sign and literally sank into the ground, causing the Inuzuka to miss her unexpectedly. Akamaru sniffed where Sasame had last stood and listened to the subtle sounds of the ground shifting underfoot, indicating Sasame was moving to another spot. He barked to let his partner know this, lest Kiba search only with his eyes. Kiba got the message, and used some chakra to cling to the walls to avoid any direct surprise attacks when the orange-haired kunoichi emerged. While he waited he pulled out the two kunai stuck in his shoulders and dropped them.

Sasame called out a jutsu from underground, and while Kiba's better-than-average hearing couldn't make it out, he was aware she said something. From eight meters away from him and three meters away from the wall, some sharp points stuck out of the floor then shot out in all directions around them like kunais. Kiba had to jump to avoid the ones headed right for him but with multiple sharp stone projectiles flying around he couldn't avoid them all. Akamaru's smaller size allowed him to get away with only some missing fur at worst.

Sasame came out of the ground with her wakizashi out. She rushed at him looking like she wanted to stab him with it. Unfortunately for her Inuzuka's knew how to handle weapon-users. "Piercing Fang!" He stated before leaping towards her and spinning around quickly, creating a cyclone around himself. Sasame skidded to her right to avoid being hit in the gut and saw the puppy Kiba was partnered with.

Kiba could feel he missed his target when he felt himself connect with a wall rather than a girl so he turned around after impact without stopping the attack. But he did have to stop when he heard Akamaru bark in distress. When he stopped, he saw Sasame holding Akamaru hostile, holding him up by his forelegs as he struggled to get loose. "Big mistake bitch!" Kiba growled, his hand hovering over his supply pouch.

In truth, that wasn't complete banter. For all basic purposes, Kiba was the strongest member of his team if you didn't count Kakashi. He had a set training routine he kept to, one that actually tested his limits and gave him room to improve, and he did it regularly. He motivated himself rather than wait for someone else to tell him to do it and he wasn't afraid to ask for help when learning something new or trying something on the job. Not only that, he enjoyed doing things in training the hard way, as it challenged him more and felt more effective, rather than assuming results would come quickly and/or on a silver platter.

So in a manner of speaking, Kiba's self-image as deserving alpha of the pack wasn't entirely without reason. The problem was that self-image was his big weakness. He expected others to agree and go along with it, particularly women. Now Kiba didn't disrespect women; having a mother and sister who could kick his ass without breaking a sweat showed him females weren't supposed to be by nature his subordinates. But the fact that they did it so easily made him crave respect from women more than anyone else. And since Inuzuka women had a tendency to like 'macho men', the kind that could prove to be better providers than the women could alone, Kiba habitually tried to enforce a macho status on himself, following his father's lead as an example for such. The way he figured it, if his father Gao Inuzuka was able to get his mother Tsume by such means, surely it would work if he did the same.

"If you don't want your little dog to be neutured, I suggest you surrender right now." Sasame told him. Despite the fact she was holding Akamaru with both hands, one of them also held her wakizashi so she could quickly make good on her threat if she had to.

"Nice way to intimidate him." Kurenai said quietly. "Using the dog has a hostage will give her a lot of leeway here."

"What if it just makes him mad?" Fuu asked.

"Oh it will, but he can't afford to put his partner at risk." The genjutsu expert replied.

Kiba's hand went into his supply pouch when she said that and pulled out a soldier pill. He flicked it with his thumb like he was flipping a coin and the pill shot right into Akamaru's mouth before Sasame saw it move. After swallowing, the ninja dog growled and his fur got red and almost quill-like. Sasame didn't drop him, but holding onto him started proving harder. But when Kiba performed another Piercing Fang, Sasame had no choice to let the puppy go free so she could dodge unhindered. Also, she honestly didn't want to risk actually endangering the dog.

Kiba stopped when he got right by Akamaru, glad his opponent reacted in the way he hoped she would. With Akamaru free, he jumped onto Kiba's back. "Advanced Beast Mimicry: Man-Beast Clone." Kiba declared while Akamaru transformed into a duplicate of Kiba.

'So now I'm not supposed to tell which is which and that'll prevent me from fighting either effectively?' Sasame asked herself. 'Too bad for him that thanks to Naruto-kun I've got experience fighting clones.' Sasame made the ox sign again and sank back into the ground.

"Nice try. Tunneling Fang!" Kiba said as he and Akamaru did the Inuzuka drill attack that was designed to dig thru solid objects like rocks and walls in case they were ever trapped. With it, the two went underground. When they came back up, Sasame was sent flying into the air and hit the ceiling hard. The two Kiba's landed safely and kept some distance, waiting to see Sasame's reaction before potentially wasting chakra.

The orange-haired kunoichi struggled to get back on her feet, her bones aching. 'Damn, that guy hits harder than I thought. And he's too quick and agile for my methods to be fully effective. And now I'm even slower, giving him a big advantage to beat me before I recover. There's only one thing I can do.' With that, Sasame let herself collapse and played dead.

"Winner, Kiba Inuzuka." Hayate announced.

"Yes! Take that Sasuke-teme!" Kiba shouted triumphantly while Akamaru returned to normal in shape and color.

'I'm glad at least one of my students won.' Kakashi thought while trying to divide his attention between the matches and his Icha Icha.

"She did her best. That's all I ever asked for." Kurenai said with a small amount of pride for her student.

Medics came and took Sasame away. Hayate addressed everyone still present. "We'll take a 'cough' a pause to allow the floor to be fixed. So no one 'cough' go anywhere."

* * *

Sarutobi was about to empty his pipe of ashes when Kakashi approached him from behind. "Kakashi? What brings you here?"

"Hokage-sama, I've got an idea I think may be of interest to you."

The old man arched an eyebrow and put his pipe down. "Go on."

"In case you're not aware, the Fuuma clan is known to be native to Land of Rice. So if this new village... Oto was it?" Kakashi asked, and the hokage nodded. "So if Oto has a Fuuma has a member of it's ranks, then it's likely that's the country it's located in."

Sarutobi made a hum of intrigue. Before the exams had started he informed all his jounin of the new village he had been told of by the kazekage and Kakashi told everyone of the music note symbol the group he encountered in Wave bore. Once these ninja got to Konoha, it was easy to confirm that the music note was the symbol of Otogakure. But sadly they had no leads as to where the village was located.

"You make a good point Kakashi." Sarutobi stated. "We must keep this in mind. However, under the circumstances, I fear we can't pursue this lead until after the exams finish."

"Why?" Kakashi asked, not liking the idea. "If we can find this village then we can find out how they negated the sharingan and maybe get it working again." While Kakashi liked having his depth perception back now that he no longer had to cover one eye all the time, he still hated how Obito's memento was basically destroyed.

"I'm well aware of that." The hokage told the perpetually late jounin. "But we still don't know exactly where this new village is or what to look for. I mean, how do you find a village hidden in sound? Sending shinobi to find it would more than likely alert the native shinobi to our presence and only put them in harm's way. So the wise thing to do is wait for these genin to return home and have our guys follow them."

Kakashi didn't like it, but saw the wisdom in such a move. "Understood Hokage-sama. On another note, how do you intend to approach them on their inclusion of a byakugan-wielder."

Sarutobi smiled in a devious way as he went back to cleaning his pipe. "Leave that to me."

* * *

After some Konoha jounin used some earth jutsus to repair the arena floor, the preliminaries were back underway. The monitor flashed the names of the next contestants.

'Kankuro Sabaku vs Rock Lee.'

"YOSH! IT'S MY TIME TO SHINE!" Lee shouted out with his fist in the air. But this shout sounded more optimistic than arrogant.

"That's the guy?" Kankuro asked himself. "Best be cautious just in case."

The two went down to the arena and sized each other up. Neither was really certain of what to expect of the other, although Lee was certain Kankuro's bundle on his back had to serve some purpose here.

"Ready? Begin!" Hayate announced.

Lee eagerly ran forward, moving faster than Kankuro expected or could counter against. Lee started with a Dynamic Entry kick to Kankuro's upper body, not bothering to say it's name since he wasn't actually making an entry. The Suna nin went flying towards the wall, everyone hearing a deafening crunch sound when the green-clad Konoha genin made contact.

"Wow! It sounds like Lee shattered that guy's skeleton." Tenten said.

Lee stopped to see if his foe could even stand now. 'I hope it's not over too soon. I enjoy a long work-out over a brief one. Not that I want to torment the guy needlessly though.'

Kankuro haphazardly got back on his feet, his movements making him look like a scarecrow brought to life. Cracking sounds could be heard as he moved. 'Are his bones broken? How is he moving?' was the general thought of those unaware of his skills. But all normal analytical thought ceased when Kankuro showed his face. His wooden grinning face with some of it covered by some sort of synthetic skin mask.

'A puppet user. I expected to see one from Suna here.' Gai told himself.

The wrapped up bundle started to unravel and the real Kankuro emerged from it. "You've got a pretty mean punch there man. I knew it was a good idea to trade places with my karasu beforehand."

Lee smiled. "Thanks for the compliment. I gotta say you sure surprised me there. This should prove to be a nice challenge for us." He then tried some standard moves from his Hard Fist taijutsu to test Kankuro's reactions. The puppeteer waved his hands and the puppet moved to take the hit then basically hug Lee to hold him still. Before the greenclad genin could free himself, several needles burst from Karasu's arms and injected him with venom. It wasn't lethal, Kankuro preferred to save that for the invasion, but for now this would do. And if that wasn't bad enough, Karasu then bodyslammed Lee into the wall behind him, but not with enough force to damage the humanoid puppet.

"Gai-sensei, what is that?" Tenten asked, always eager to hear about new weapons.

"It's one of Suna's trademarks." Gai told his kunoichi student. "Suna is well known for three skills they excel in, their use of wind jutsu, botanical toxins, and of course puppetry jutsu. Puppetry jutsu basically gives the wielder a stand-in for the actual fighting, allowing them to fight at any range without actually putting themselves in harms way. The beauty of it is that the puppets can come in virtually any form and be equipped with virtually anything, and a powerful puppeteer could even manipulate more than one with experience and focus. The downside is that the puppet's in general are slow and breakable, and give the puppeteer little ability to use anything along with them as they basically make the wielder's hands full."

"So Lee should be fine since he can move fast enough?" Tenten asked, faithful in her enthusiastic teammate but also curious about anything else her sensei could tell her.

"In theory yes." Gai answered, making the weapons mistress flopsweat in worry. "He did get caught just now, so we need to see what the puppet actually does before assuming Lee has the upper hand."

Lee didn't look physically affected so he continued the fight like nothing had happened. Kankuro moved his puppet, waiting for the posion he injected into Lee to take effect. It wasn't lethal, but rather it temporarily thickened the blood a little, making the heart struggle to pump it as effectively for approximately 17 minutes. Movements would slow, breathing would become labored, and increased physical stress could cause severe circulatory problems and organ malfunction in some cases. So if Lee knew what was good for him, he'd stopped when it hurt to keep going.

Too bad Kankuro didn't know that this Konoha genin just loved to test his limits.

Lee ran right past Karasu and up to the one pulling the chakra strings. He unwrapped his bandages and used them to tie up the Suna genin, who couldn't react fast enough to get away. "Primary Lotus!" Lee announced. Kankuro was turned into a duplicate of the disguise he wore when this match started and Lee threw him up into the air before jumping up and kicking him down. "Secondary Lotus!"

At the same time Kankuro tried to get Karasu to fire some more senbon from it's mouth, these ones tipped with nothing to prevent a dangerous mixture of toxins. Lee took a hit in his left calf but his training weights ended up blocking them from actual penetration.

Kankuro took a pretty hard crash landing and the bandages were removed. He knew he could easily keep going, but for the brief moment before Lee continued his assault, he thought it over. 'This guy is good and he hasn't even used any jutsu yet. If I keep going Karasu may get broken too much for me to repair before the final round and I would have to reveal all my best maneuvers to win here. If I do that, then I won't have any surprises later on when we need it. The wise thing to do is pull out now, cut my loses, and save my strength for later on.'

Lee was more than ready to continue, but Kankuro raised his hand up in surrender. "Proctor, I give."

"Really?" Hayate asked, holding his hand up to tell Lee to halt. Not receiving an answer from the Suna genin, the coughing jounin shrugged. "Alright, winner by 'cough' forfeit, Rock Lee."

"YOSH! I DID IT GAI-SENSEI!" Lee shouted triumphantly,adding a thumbs up and shining grin to his instructor.

"WAY TO GO LEE!" Gai proudly shouted back in an identical manner. Lee then quickly joined him up on the balcony and the two created their abominable sunset jutsu, with only Tenten knowing ahead of time to shield her eyes.

The Suna and Oto ninjas of all ranks, and even most of the Konoha ninja too, all watched this in horror and revulsion.

"Dear Kami! Even I think that's one genjutsu the world's better off without!" Kurenai claimed.

"Can I go back to never sleeping again so I can't have that for a nightmare?" Gaara asked.

'I think I'm actually getting sicker.' Hayate told himself.

Kankuro was offered to be taken to the infirmary but he declined. "I'm fine, just sore. I just need to relax for a moment." He picked up Karasu and went back up to his team.

At the same time, Lee started feeling lightheaded and out-of-breath. "All you alright Lee?" Gai asked, ending their unintentional horror show.

"I'm fine sensei. Just a little worn out more than I expected. But I will not let that bother me." The green-clad genin said, looking a little pale.

"Maybe you should relax just a bit Lee, in case that puppet got you with something." Tenten suggested.

"I agree. Take a small break and sit down Lee." Gai told his star pupil, who instantly obeyed.

The monitor buzzed and declared the next round.

''Shikamaru Nara vs Zaku Abumi'


	53. Troublesome

Ch. 53 Troublesome

Shikamaru sighed in frustration when he saw his name come up. "What a drag. And I was hoping to rest some more."

"Shika, you could sleep for 24 hours and still say it's not enough." Ino drolly stated.

"Your point being?" The Nara asked as if she wasn't wrong.

"Just get down there." The platinum blonde ordered.

Shikamaru sighed and started walking down to the arena at a patient pace. "What a drag."

"Nonetheless, Shikamaru, give it your all." Asuma told his student. "Or I'll tell your mother otherwise."

On the other side of the room, his opponent was already ready and waiting, feeling rather impatient rather than hesitant. "This should be good. Looks like I've got an easy win." On the inside, he sounded less boastful. 'I make this and become chuunin, I can prove I'm a worthy addition to Oto.' The young boy was brought to the hidden village during the trek the refuges from Kiri made their way to it as well. Orochimaru went to a village near where the group made camp one night and saw the orphan shivering in an alley, felt sympathy, and offered to take the boy along. He readily accepted and since then aspired to show he had been worthy of the kind gesture.

Dosu looked at his teammate sympathetically. "I sure hope he wins, for his sake if nothing else."

"What do you mean?" Haku asked, having overheard the comment.

"Oh nothing. It's just that Zaku's a tad bit competitive in spars. He likes to win and gets downright mopey when he loses. Personally I think he's got a bit of an inferiority complex because he takes it so hard."

"Inferiority complex huh?" Haku commented. "He sure hides it well."

Zaku cracked his knuckles and stretched his arms at the same time Shikamaru actually got where he was supposed to be. The Nara heir looked bored and inconvenienced but he made sure to carefully look over his opponent. 'Okay, nothing particularly notable about this guy. No visible weapons, no unusual physical traits, and no signs of intense physical training. For all basic purposes, he looks like a normal genin, but he has secrecy as his advantage since I don't know what he can do. And from seeing others from his village fight earlier, I can't make an accurate guess as to what exactly to expect.'

'He looks like an easy win. Hell, he looks like he doesn't even want to win.' Zaku told himself.

"Ready? Begin!" Hayate called out.

Zaku quickly stuck his hands out in front of him, palms facing his opponent. "Wind Palm!" All of a sudden two bursts of condensed air rushed forward and knocked Shikamaru off his feet. It felt like he had just been punched by two giant fists.

"Wind jutsus without handsigns?" He asked himself.

"Decapitating Airwaves!" Zaku added, and shikamaru wisely decided to get out of the way before two slash marks appeared in the wall behind where he had stood just before the attack was called. Zaku then simply reaimed his palms towards Shikamaru again. "Decapitating Airwaves!" The young Nara dodged again and saw one slash mark carved into the floor where he had been standing and one in the wall behind him again.

'Okay, the difference in location confirms he can make two different attacks simultaneously and aim them separately or together. Considering the angle his hands had just been a moment ago, I'm guessing that determines the aim for both strikes. In that case, I think I know what to do. The problem will be finding a moment when he can't attack.'

Zaku stopped his attack and flexed his arms. 'Still working good. This was so worth it.' Two years ago, back before he even made genin, Zaku had volunteered to be a guinea pig for a new ninja weapon. The weapon was designed to allow wind and sound manipulation all without hand signs by using a chakra-powered vacuum mechanism. The catch was that in order for it to work as intended, the device had to be stored in the forearms with narrow tubes connected to the palms to allow air to enter and exit., and small vents by the elbows to eliminate excess air pressure. Chakra flow in the arms would draw air in then force it out with a lot of force, creating forceful or cutting wind attacks and even sonic blasts.

However this of course came with a drawback, as pointed out by Tsunade. The surgery needed to install such a mechanism could damage the tissue in the arm and if it wasn't placed in just the right place right by the chakra network, which only a byakugan-user could determine for maximum success, it couldn't likely work effectively anyway. Not only that, if it did work, the presence of this tool would limit and hinder the overall flexibility and speed of the arms, giving them a disadvantage at learning other techniques. Zaku had been warned, but his desire to prove himself overpowered his desire to stay safe and he took the operation anyway. To this day he had yet to regret it.

Once his internal tool, which had yet to be officially named for some reason, had finished reloading, he looked at his foe cockily. "You might as well give up or let me kill you dude. There's no way you're any match for me."

"Please don't brag about yourself Zaku." Dosu said to himself, thinking actually telling his teammate that would count as interference with the match.

"You can't beat my methods." Zaku said, showing his hands proudly. "I can create almost any wind and sound attack I want without hand signs, and attack in two separate directions and from any range. Face it, as long as I have chakra in my arms, you won't be able to so much as scratch me Leaf nin."

Shikamaru just smiled. "In that case, I guess the trap I set up behind you won't work."

'What trap?' Zaku reflexively turned around to see whatever Shikamaru had indicated. He saw nothing despite the intensive lookover and turned back around, but the instant he did, he felt something grab hold of him and his body became rigid. "What the hell?"

Shikamaru stood right where he had been with his hands forming the rat sign and his shadow stretched out unnaturally connecting the two. "Shadow Possession Jutsu, successful link. For now, I control your every move."

Zaku's eyes widened. 'Dammit! He tricked me so he could buy time to do this one move. I can't believe I fell for that.'

Shikamaru moved his arms to press his palms together as if praying, and Zaku was forced to mimic this action. The Oto nin struggled to break free but couldn't. "You must mimic all my moves, and if I channel chakra thru my arms, you will too and I'm guessing that's not a good idea for you right now."

Zaku looked horrified. "No, please don't! You'll destroy my arms beyond repair!"

The Nara didn't look sympathetic. "Maybe next time you'll think before announcing your secret weapon. You can either withdraw, or lose your precious arms. Your choice, and choose quickly or I will." He added that part to avoid using too much chakra to maintain the shadow link and risk having to end it. That would end any advantage he had here.

The Oto genin didn't need to think about his options long. "Alright, I forfeit."

Hayate raised his hand. "In that 'cough' case, winner by forfeit, Shikamaru Nara."

The pineapple-haired teen released his jutsu and Zaku regained control of his movements. 'Oh I'm going to be hearing about this for a long time.' The Oto genin told him with regret as he went back up to his comrades.

"You put up a good fight man." Naruto told him to boost his spirits.

"Until the end." He bitterly commented.

Dosu came up to his teammate. "Zaku, I can pretty much guess what's going thru your mind right now. So all I'll say is it could have been worse." Zaku showed no signs of relief though.

On the other side of the room, Shikamaru was greeted by his proud team. "Good way to defeat your enemy without wasting much energy." Asuma stated.

"It's a good thing he was pretty stupid too." Ino added.

Shikamaru didn't comment. Instead he sat down against the wall. "Alright if I get some rest?"

Asuma nodded. "I suppose so, but I'm waking you up when it's Ino's and Chouji's turns."

The monitor then declared the next contestants.

'Haku Momochi vs Sai'

'I wonder if I can win this one without revealing my bloodline. I know I can't keep it hidden forever, but maybe I can delay the inevitable and not make Konoha more curious about our group.' Haku told herself as she went down to the arena.

'Momochi? Any connection to Zabuza Momochi?' Kakashi asked himself.

Haku stood ready and waiting. She was currently dressed in a dark blue battle kimono and her hair held up in a bun with two senbon holding it in place. The look made her look slightly androgynous to those unfamiliar to her yet still more on the feminine side. Sai on the other hand wore a black ninja outfit with a grey open jacket on too and a ninjato at his left hip. He smiled at her with his eyes closed, and that bothered her more than anything else.

"Ready? 'Cough' Begin!" Hayate announced.

Right away Sai pulled out a scroll and a brush. He opened the scroll, revealing it was blank, and began quickly drawing several animals on it. It was actually somewhat impressive to see him draw such a complex drawing so quickly and accurately, without having to get more ink. Haku suspected there was a trick to it, but had no time to worry about that.

"Ninja Art Super Beast Imitation." Sai calmly said before the drawings came to life right off the scroll as black-and-white animals. These particular animals happened to be lions and there were five of them.

"Whoa. Didn't see that one coming." Haku said, somewhat impressed but not intimidated. The lions advanced on her so she made a series of one-handed hand signs. "Ice Style Thousand Needles Jutsu." Countless ice senbon formed and pierced the lions, killing them but making them look like they were being erased.

Sai kept smiling at her, but now his eyes were open. "Ice techniques eh? That's unusual. Hope you don't accidentally freeze your balls off."

That comment made the ice wielder jerk back. 'Did he really just say that? He thinks I'm a boy?' "Oh, I've got no problems with my powers so your concern is unneeded."

'An ice-wielder? That's interesting.' Sarutobi told himself. 'This new village is full of surprises.'

Sai started drawing again. "Ninja Art Super Beast Imitation." This time ten demonic horses sprang to life and ran towards Haku.

"Ice Style Ice Spike Jutsu." Haku declared after four two-handed hand signs. In front of her several spikes as thick as training logs and as long as a full-grown person formed on the floor before her like a barricade. The horses couldn't stop or dodge in time and ran right into the spikes, piercing themselves and disappearing. "Ice style Thousand Needles Jutsu." Haku added.

Sai tried to draw up something more effective, but the ice senbon Haku created aimed right for his scroll and tore the available paper to ribbons. And as a precaution, some of them skewered the rolled-up section of the scroll too to prevent him from simply unrolling an available portion to continue drawing on.

Sai lost his smile. "Clever. You effectively eliminated one of the requirements of my methods." He tossed the scroll away, but then he reached inside his jacket and pulled out another. "But any good shinobi has spare equipment for such an occasion."

"Well that just shows you're more competent than some of the shinobi I've seen from this village." Haku commented. "But can you draw now?" She performed six hand signs in quick succession while he tried drawing some more creatures. "Ice Style Blizzard Mist Jutsu." From out of her mouth emerged a thick grey stream of mist. It looked exactly like the Hidden Mist Jutsu and quickly covered the whole area.

Sai finished his drawing as the mist hit him, instantly chilling him but doing nothing else. "Ninja Art Super Beast Imitation." This time he created two eagles to fly over the spikes and attack Haku from above. The Oto kunoichi had hid herself in the fog, but his eagles should have no problem finding her.

The eagles circled around the arena, searching for their target. Sai was momentarily bothered that they couldn't find her. Without realizing it, he started to rub his arms in an effort to keep warm. Suddenly one of the eagles swooped down and attacked a spot about four feet to his right in front of him. After the eagle hit he saw Haku rise from the fog, indicating she had been crawling thru it in an effort to sneak up on him, and she looked hurt. The second eagle attacked too, but when it hit, Haku burst into shards of ice that cut up the eagles and killed them.

"An ice clone?" Sai asked himself. 'I didn't even see it in this fog. Where's the real one?' He pulled out his sword and looked around for his opponent.

'It's a good thing birds of prey focus more on moving targets than still ones.' Haku told herself, having remained still while her ice clone provided a distraction. "Ice Style Thousand Needles Jutsu." More ice senbon formed around Sai and struck him while he attempted to block them with his sword and failed. Many pressure points were struck, making him seize up and collapse, unable to get up. She then rose from the fog. "I believe this match is over."

Hayate said nothing, waiting for any sign from Sai. The pale nin couldn't stand due to Haku's attack, so the coughing jounin relented. "Winner, Haku Momochi."

Haku dispelled the freezing mist and went back to where she had been before. Sai was taken away on a stretcher, already contemplating how he could assist Danzo in trying to acquire her talents for ROOT later on.

Haku gave the pale artist a brief glance. 'Should I have corrected him when he called me a boy?' After a quick thought, she shook her head. 'Naw, that would probably just cause more trouble for me later on.'

Kurenai smiled at her student. "Good job Haku. Although from now on you'll have to be on guard for any curious Konoha ninja. They probably won't attack you, but they're bound to love the idea of trying to convince you to join them instead of our village."

Haku waved it off. "Like I would."

"Even so," Kurenai continued, sounding more serious now. "They may not take no for an answer."

Haku smiled. "Okay sensei, I'll just spend all my time with Naruto-kun like Anko-san ordered Hinata to do. That way I'm covered." She struggled to not laugh at the genjutsu expert's expression, which was a mixture of 'I can't believe you said that' and 'Keep your panties on'.

The monitor buzzed and two more names were revealed.

'Ino Yamanaka vs. Dosu Kinuta'

"Too bad Forehead won't be here to see me wipe the floor with this guy." The platinum blonde from Konoha claimed confidently.

"You should focus more on doing the job well rather than being praised for it Ino." Asuma told his kunoichi student.

"No worries Asuma-sensei, it'll be a piece of cake." Ino said before she headed down to the arena. 'Actually, I'm a bit worried. My skills work best when I'm with my teammates, not solo. I gotta be careful here and not show any nervousness.' She got and saw Dosu already waiting for her. 'Why does he dress so... shabbily? Either he's weird or it serves some purpose. To be safe, let's assume the latter.'

Neither genin bothered to make any comments beforehand so Hayate performed his duty. "Read-'cough cough'... sorry. Ready? Begin!"

Dosu was ready to use his main weapon right away, but remembering Zaku's fight moments ago, chose to withhold that for the time being. For now, he reached into one of his supply pouches and tossed out a few dozen caltrops that landed scattered in front of Ino before she could move. Ino briefly looked daunted but just jumped over where the group was the thinnest and threw some shuriken at her foe in the process. Dosu used his gauntlet to block. Fortunately it was strong enough to withstand the weak attack without damage.

When Ino landed, she started up her trademark jutsu. "Mind Possession-"

"Melody Gauntlet Heavy Bass Blast." Dosu cut in, and unfortunately for the Konoha kunoichi, his attack was faster.

A shockwave erupted from the contraption Dosu wore on his right arm, slamming into Ino with the force of a normal wind jutsu. She felt herself pushed back a bit but not hard enough to actually fall, impressive since her sense of balance was being thrown into disarray by the impact the sound had on her inner ear. And if that wasn't bad enough, heavy vibrations from the ground went up her legs and then her whole body, making her internal organs feel like they were rattling inside her. The collective effect made her feel disorientated and quite nauseous.

Dosu himself felt a bit off too from the backlash of the weapon. Fortunately that mane he wore allowed the excess sound waves generated by the gauntlet to harmlessly bleed out of his own body. Ino wasn't so lucky and finally fell forwards onto her hands and knees, looking like she was about to hurl. There was also a ringing in her ears that was going to drive her crazy in no time. She looked up and was glad to see he hadn't moved towards her to do more.

'I guess some of these new village shinobi prefer to fight standing in one place with ranged attacks.' Ino told herself, remembering the battles involving several of the other Oto genin. 'Perfect targets for my techniques, if I could strike faster.'

"Melody Gauntlet High Pitch Screech." Dosu called out, his weapon now generating a siren-like sound.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Ino screamed painfully as she covered her ears to block out the noise as best she could. Everyone else in the room had to do the same, particularly those watching from behind Ino. The only reason Dosu wasn't affected was because he moved a few mobile ear flaps to guard himself during the time when Ino was settling herself.

To everyone's relief the attack ended soon and Dosu moved forward to get right in Ino's face. Her head was throbbing and her hands were still tight around her ears so she didn't even notice his movements. Everyone expected him to hit her, but instead he pushed her back with his left palm, making her fall backwards right onto the caltrops he set in place at the start of the match. Now the platinum blonde yelled for a different reason.

'Ok, she's suffered enough.' Hayate commented. "Winner, Dosu Kinuta."

Asuma sighed, his cigarette lowering on his lips. 'Sorry Ino. But hopefully this will teach you to value your training more.'

While medics took Ino away and the maned Oto genin rejoined his comrades, Gai looked at his own fellow comrades. "So what does everyone think of this new village?"

"They're full of surprises that's for sure." Genma stated.

"We haven't yet found what we really want to know, but we did discover a few interesting facts." Kakashi pointed out. "Like the byakugan-wielder and a hint to where their village is."

"Remember Kakashi that we don't want to act rash to someone we know little about and would probably benefit more from allying with than-" Gai tried to say, but his friend/rival cut him off with a hateful glare.

"Ally with them?" Kakashi spat out like the idea was sin itself. "These guys ruined my eye, stole my sensei's wife from us, crippled my student, and interfered on my team's first real mission. There is no force on Heaven or Earth to make me ally myself with them."

Asuma shook his head. "Gai was talking about the village Kakashi, not just you, and I don't think it's up to you who Konoha joins forces with. And personally I think we should give his idea merit. Maybe they'd fix your eye up if you got on their good side."

Kakashi stubbornly looked away. "Oh, real mature Kakashi." Genma sarcastically added.

The monitor then declared the next match.

'Tenten Higurashi vs Gaara Sabaku'


	54. Conclusion

Ch. 54 Conclusion

Gaara and Tenten stood in the arena facing each other without worry. Gaara had faith in his ultimate defense, and Tenten had faith in her superior aim. Of course, neither knew what the other had to offer in this match, but certain they would triumph.

Gaara stood with his arms crossed in front of himself and his eyes narrowed. 'I wonder how good she is. Judging from what I've seen of Konoha kunoichi, I shouldn't expect much. The pink-haired one was pathetic and the blonde was too slow. The brunette Naruto faced was marginally better, but lacked the drive and diverse skills required for a proper ninja. This one may be no different.'

Tenten meanwhile stood confidently with her fists at her sides ready to grab her scrolls and kunais in her weapons pouch. 'This guy looks like he knows what he's doing and he's not the least bit afraid of me. I'm guessing that huge gourd on his back must have something to do with his skills, but it's bound to affect his balance and mobility at the same time. If I'm lucky he should be slow enough to be an easy target for me. But that just makes me wonder what skill he excels in then.'

"Ready? Begin!" Hayate announced.

Tenten moved quickly, hoping to end this quickly, by throwing the kunais she had unsealed and ready at the raccoon-eyed boy. She grabbed two and threw them both at his shoulders, hoping to impare his ability to use his arms comfortably. She was surprised to see that, without him even moving a muscle, the cork on his gourd popped out and a stream of sand emerged to block the throwing knives from impacting him.

'What the...? How'd he do that? Do ANY of these Suna nin need handsigns to perform jutsu? I know that puppet user needed his hands to move his puppet, but I saw no handsigns needed to make the chakra threads. And that Suna kunoichi didn't even need a jutsu against her opponent.'

Tenten couldn't think much further as Gaara's sand formed a tendril and came at her. She jumped away and threw a shuriken, hoping Gaara was distracted and couldn't block. Even if he had been, his sand wasn't and moved to deflect the throwing star. At the same time the tendril he already had out wrapped around her left ankle in the air and held her upside down in the air.

Expecting something bad to happen next, Tenten unfurled one of her scrolls and unsealed a few kunai with paper bombs attached to them, which she threw right at Gaara's sand. They made contact and shortly exploded, sending sand flying and creating huge smoke clouds. The tendril holding her up suddenly dropped her, which she was wisely prepared for, so she turned right side up and landed on her feet. When she landed she noticed some of the sand was still wrapped around her ankle like a shackle.

Gaara looked unharmed and thrust his left arm forward. Sand at his feet mimicked him and shot out from the left side towards his target. It hit her hard and knocked her back but not down. Gaara thrust his right hand forward and more sand rushed at Tenten.

Thinking quickly, the bun-haired kunoichi leaped into the air. 'I hoped to save this for later, but there may not be a later for me if I don't now.' She told herself as she pulled out two scrolls and unfurled them both while spinning. The paper formed a sort of helix under her in the process and several visible seals started to glow. "Twin Rising Dragons!" She proclaimed while at her highest.

Smoke flooded the arena and the sounds of weapons flying could be heard, but little could be seen. Only Gai and Lee knew what was going on, Neji would too had he been there to watch. The sudden release of multiple seals would generate a proportional amount of smoke that would double as a blinder if used to this degree, and the motion Tenten started beforehand would give the released weapons the inertia they needed to be fired without her actually having to throw them herself. Not to mention the spinning would allow her to attack in all directions around and under her while leaving her a safe spot to land.

When Tenten did land, she held onto four shuriken just in case she still had to attack more, and waited for the smoke to clear or for her opponent to retaliate. While she waited, she felt something move underneath her and crawl up her legs. She looked down and saw more sand, a lot more sand. She jumped backwards but the sand followed her like it was hunting her. It was even reaching up for her as she moved thru the air.

'Come on, I had to do some kind of damage to this guy. Shouldn't his attacks be slowing down?' The weapon enthusiast asked herself.

The smoke cleared and she saw a wall of sand in front of the Suna jinchuuriki, with dozens of throwable weapons of various types embedded in it. Gaara came into her view by stepped towards his right around the sand shield, and to her disbelief he didn't have a scratch on him.

"She missed?" Lee asked, astounded by the idea. "Tenten-chan never misses."

"This guy must use sand for offense and defense." Gai theorized quite accurately.

'My best technique and it did nothing?' Tenten told herself. 'What can I do? There's got to be some way to hurt this guy. But how?'

Gaara pointed his left arm at her and his fist was open but looked like he was grasping something. "Sand Coffin."

All the sand gatherer around Tenten and tried to engulf her. "Oh hell no." She said as she tried to get out of the way. Sadly she couldn't get away fast enough and got covered in sand up to her neck. The sand was holding her tightly, the pressure making it impossible for her to even squirm. 'I'm going to die!' She screamed in her head.

"Proctor, if you don't desire for her to get crushed, it would be wise to declare the winner." Gaara told Hayate with the smallest glance in his direction and a touch of KI to emphasize his seriousness.

Hayate looked the scene over and decided it was better to do as the raccoon-eyed boy said. "In that 'cough' case, the winner here is Gaara Sabaku."

Satisfied, Gaara released his hold on the kunoichi and all his sand went back into his gourd. "Not bad. Honestly, you strike me as the best kunoichi genin I've seen from your village." He told Tenten.

The bun-haired girl dusted herself off. "Thanks, I guess. But I'm going to be even better for the next time we cross paths."

Gaara smiled. "Keep in mind I likely will be too." He said it with no hint of a threat, more like he was trying to encourage her.

The two looked at each other daringly, then left to go back to their teammates, neither injured enough for the infirmary. Tenten of course had to stop to recollect her used weapons.

The monitor buzzed and two more names were announced.

'Chouji Akimichi vs Fuu Takino'

The green-haired jinchuuriki smiled. "Finally, my turn."

Kurenai arched an eyebrow. 'Fuu against an Akimichi? This is going to be an interesting match.'

Fuu jumped off the balcony and landed safely in the arena while Anko came up to Kurenai. "You think she'll be able to handle this one?"

Kurenai's body language gave no answer. "I'm not sure. Her kekkei genkai will give her the element of surprise, but against an Akimichi it may not be enough."

Asuma was giving his student a brief peptalk before he went down to participate. "Try your best Chouji, I know you can do it. Fight like one of your friends depends on it. And before you ask, no I'm not going to buy you a meal if you win. You need to learn to win for more reasons than your next meal."

Chouji nodded and went down to face his foe. She looked a lot more confident than he did, but he felt he had a good chance of winning here. Aside from her confidence, he couldn't see any sign that told him what to expect of her. Although he was certain that red pack of hers served a purpose.

"Ready? Begin!" Hayate proclaimed.

Fuu did nothing, as if waiting for the chubby boy to go first. Chouji was eager to end this quickly, so he used his best technique. "Expansion Jutsu Human Boulder!" Chouji's torso swelled up, making him look like a gigantic meatball with a shirt on it. His arms, legs, and head were tucked inside his body, and he started rolling towards the jinchuuriki.

Chouji collided with the wall, and it appeared that he crushed his target. "Did he do it? That was quick." Shikamaru mused.

Chouji stopped spinning and reduced his size to normal to see what he had done. He was surprised to see no trace of Fuu at all, not even a scrap of clothes left behind. "Where'd she go?"

"Right here." She answered playfully as she instantly became noticeable. It was like she popped out of thin air, with no trace of even a shushin being used. And not only that, there was no sign that she had been affected by Chouji's assault.

"How did you do that?" Chouji asked.

"Not telling. That's my 'little' secret." She then chuckled like she had made a small joke. The truth was in a way she did.

Fuu, being the jinchuuriki of the Shichibi, was supposed to gain seven kekkei genkai on her seventh birthday. Sadly though, she didn't get to contact the beetle in time for the full deal to take effect. Normally, if the deal couldn't be arranged, the bijuu would force one kekkei genkai onto it's host of it's own choice for the chance to escape later on. Fuu may not have made contact with her inner demon quick enough to gain all seven, but she did have the chance to choose the one she would acquire and that was good enough for the Shichibi, who recommended the one she did acquire.

Fuu's kekkei genkai was known as Body Contraction, possibly not the most fitting name but appropriate because of it's similarities to the Akimichi's Body Expansion techniques. The Akimichi's had the ability to use their chakra to make all or part of their body bigger and heavier, and the bigger and heavier they already were the less chakra they needed to do so.

Fuu on the other hand, had her skills go in the opposite direction. She used her chakra to become smaller and lighter. She could become any size but was unable to only apply this to a segment of her body; it was the whole body or nothing. This may not sound too impressive at first, but it did have it's uses. When she was smaller, she could sneak around better and get thru small spaces and gaps in defenses, not to mention that she became a harder target to hit. Fortunately her clothes and equipment shrank with her.

One of the best features of this ability was the increase in speed that came with it. Normally being smaller meant that she couldn't cover as much ground while running as she could when she was her normal size, even if she wasn't moving any slower. It was like even if a racehorse and a dog were running at an equal speed, the horse would be in front because it could take bigger steps. Fuu's kekkei genkai actually countered this by increasing her speed when she got smaller, so she could cover just as much ground as she could in her normal size. And this speed increase didn't apply to just her legs; her whole body and nervous system got a speed increase.

This was how she dodged Chouji. She got small enough to fit in the cracks between the tiles and ran thru them to get away before Chouji's weight could do too much damage above her. When the danger passed, she returned to normal size so quickly it looked like she appeared out of nowhere. She did something similar when faced with the Ame nin in the Forest of Death and Sakura in Wave.

'The ability to get bigger versus the ability to get smaller. Who will win?' Anko asked herself while watching.

"Expansion Jutsu Human Boulder!" Chouji said, repeating his attack again. He charged right at the girl, who disappeared from sight before he could hit her. He hit the wall again, but rather than stop and check around again, he spun in a new direction and charged again when he got away from the wall.

"Is he trying to bulldoze her?" Naruto asked.

"It looks like it." Hinata replied.

Chouji continued this for a while, but Fuu could not be seen. Hayate looked around. 'If she left the arena she forfeits, but we have chakra sensing seals for that and none have gone off. So she must still be within the required area, but too well hidden to detect. Is she like that orange-haired girl who hid underground?'

One of the guarding jounin double-checked the seals Hayate was just thinking about. 'It's in perfect working order. So she is still in the arena somewhere. But where?'

Chouji finally stopped and returned to normal size. When he did, Fuu appeared standing on his right arm using chakra to stay attached, herself the size of a chihuahua. She giggled and he tried to punch her off. She jumped and returned to normal size in mid-air, doing a flip in the process. When she landed, she had her hand in the tiger sign.

"Bang." She said.

Chouji felt something burning, and looked to see two paper bombs attached to the left and right of his midsection. Before he could react, they exploded. They weren't dangerous, more for show than lethality, but they did hurt. It was like having a few firecrackers strapped underneath his armpits. Had Fuu be serious here, this tactic would have killed him.

"How did she do that?" Asuma asked, seeing his student go up in smoke.

Kurenai smiled, knowing exactly how her student did such a thing. 'Glad you used my idea Fuu. You got small enough that you could cling to the guys clothes and moved to a safe spot while he moved. Not an easy feat for someone like him I might add. You then placed the tags on the body parts you could reach while he spun without getting yourself crushed, and though they were microscopic when you put them there, they became normal size when you did too.'

The smoke around Chouji cleared, and the chubby boy was seen lying on the floor twitching in agony, his shirt torn to shreds. Had he not been wearing a mesh shirt underneath to reduce friction burn while rolling, he would probably be missing some skin too. As it was his skin was just raw and red.

Hayate thought it might be better to end this match now. "Winner here is-"

"Wait!" Chouji yelled out, slowly getting back on his feet. "I can still go on."

"You sure?" Hayate asked and Chouji nodded. "Very 'cough' well, you may continue."

'Nice try pal, but there's no way I'm going to be the only jinchuuriki who can't go to the finals here.' Fuu told herself. She then prepared three hand signs. "Wind Style: Tornado Prison Jutsu."

A cyclone of wind formed around Chouji, moving fast enough that he had a hard time seeing anything on the other side. Fuu then threw out a large amount of kunais and shurikens, which got swept up into the cyclone. If Chouji tried to get out or get bigger, he'd get cut up.

Unfortunately there was one detail Fuu didn't know about. Much just how her Body Contraction gave her extra speed to counter the weakness being smaller would cause, the Body Expansion gave Chouji a defensive boost to counter the fact that bigger meant he was an easier target to hit. She may have been harder to hit, but he was harder to hurt.

Chouji could see the tips of the weapons now included in the whirlwind and decided to risk it. "Expansion Jutsu Human Boulder." He became a meatball tank again and the increase in his girth disrupted the cyclone and deflected the small weapons.

Fuu looked caught off guard. "Oh crap. But I'm not letting you squash me." She prepared four hand signs fast. "Wind Style: Grinding Wind Cycle Jutsu."

To her left a large flat whirlwind formed and spun counterclockwise. To her right another whirlwind formed and spun clockwise. The two joined right between Fuu and Chouji, and the winds generated by both combined to create a pressurized wind cannon that Chouji happened to be caught in the middle of. He spun as fast as he could to charge at her, but the wind kept pushing him back and slowly it was starting to win. Fuu's position allowed her to escape getting caught between the whirlwinds.

Chouji could not continue this much longer. He had enough chakra and stamina to, but Fuu's jutsu wasn't called 'grinding' for nothing. The air currents were applying lots of pressure on his body, and while his enlarged body could handle more pressure than a normal human body could, the motion of the wind combined with the pressure made it feel worse. It felt like she was trying to erode this boulder. And if this kept up, she would.

'I can't keep doing this. I gotta get out of this one and try again.' Chouji told himself. He then stopped spinning and returned to normal, allowing the wind to shot him towards the wall behind him. He had been prepared for that, but he underestimated the force of the wind and hit the wall harder than he anticipated.

Rather than see if he could continue, Fuu ended her current jutsu and threw a few kunai with weak paper bombs attached to them. They embedded themselves in the wall around Chouji and went off, hurting him a little more.

After the attack, Chouji was down on his knees and breathing hard but his expression showed he wasn't going to call it quits just yet. 'How can I be good enough to protect my friends, when I can't even fight on my own? I can't give up here.' He then struggled to get to his feet, but Fuu came in and hit him with a good punch, knocking him over. He struggled to get back up and she kicked him.

Hayate saw where this was going and felt enough was enough. "Okay, Chouji Akimi-'couhh cough'... Akimichi is unable to continue. The winner is Fuu Takino. And with that, 'cough' the preliminary comes to a close."

Fuu leaned down. "You did good man. No hard feelings and nothing personal, it's just part of the test."

He nodded but said nothing. Medics came and placed him on a stretcher. Before he was taken away he gave her a grin. "Someday we're going to have a rematch. And I'll do better." There was no vengeance in his claim, only good sportsmanship.

The green-haired jinchuuriki smirked. "Looking forward to it."

"Would everyone who 'cough' won their matches please come down here?" Hayate asked.

Soon Fuu, Naruto, Hinata, Isaribi, Haku, Dosu, Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, Lee, Temari, and Gaara stood before the coughing jounin and the hokage joined him too. He saw surprised to see that all twelve made it thru rather than there being at least one double knock-out. This situation wasn't preferred but it would be manageable.

Sarutobi addressed them all. "To all of you that have earned the right to compete in the third round of the exam, congratulations. Now, I'd like to explain the third round." He paused to adjust his hat. "As we explained earlier, the third round is the main event and will be watched by many people. Each of you will have to fight at full strength to make your countries proud. You cannot afford to have any reservations here, for you have more to worry about than just a promotion."

'You've got that right.' The Oto and Suna all thought.

"This is why the third round... will be held one month from now." Sarutobi added.

"We're... not going to do it now?" Kiba asked.

"This month will be so you all can make preparations." The old hokage replied.

"Meaning?" Isaribi asked.

"We need some time to allow the foreign dignitaries to arrive and get the main event set up. But also, this is for you all to rest and retrain yourselves."

"Retrain?" Kankuro asked. 'Can't he just give a straight answer just once?'

"You all fought here like it was a serious fight, some a little more than others I'm presuming. But you all had to fight an unknown opponent, uncertain of their skills. Now that uncertainty is gone, and you all to a point know what the others are capable of. If the opposition knows your capabilities and limitations, you have little chance of winning compared to having the element of surprise. This month is to give you all an opportunity to gain new skills and improve the ones you already have. But also rest too, so that you'll be at your best when it's your turn in the third round."

'I can't afford to rest. I'm going to be on guard all month for sure.' Hinata thought.

"Before I dismiss you, we're going to decide now what the arrangement will be for the next round." Sarutobi added.

Hayate stood before them holding a box. "Reach each one at a time and 'cough' pull out one piece of paper." Each did. "Ok, now from 'cough cough' left to right, tell us your number."

"10" Dosu said.

"1" Naruto said.

"9" Hinata said.

"5" Temari said.

"12" Gaara said.

"3" Fuu said.

"7" Isaribi said.

"6" Haku said.

"2" Kiba said.

"11" Lee said.

"4" Shikamaru said.

"8" Shino said.

Hayate wrote this all down. "Alright, this is 'cough' how the first round of the third test will be set." He showed them the chart.

'Naruto Urashi vs Kiba Inuzuka. Fuu Takino vs Shikamaru Nara. Temari Sabaku vs Haku Momochi. Isaribi Meikai vs Shino Aburame. Hinata Hibiki vs Dosu Kinuta. Rock Lee vs Gaara Sabaku.'

'I'm against the guy who beat up Sasame-chan. I'll win this one for her and show everyone no one messes with my girls when I'm around.' Naruto thought confidently.

'All I know about my opponent is he's immune to genjutsu. But I'm sure he's not immune to taijutsu.' Kiba told himself.

'The shadow wielder? If he catches me my size won't matter.' Fuu thought warily.

'A girl? So troublesome. I don't want to fight a girl.' Shikamaru groaned.

'So it's just like a tournament?' Temari asked herself.

'This is going to be fun. Desert girl versus snow girl.' Haku mused.

'The bug user eh? I'll just drown them.' Isaribi told herself.

'...' Shino had nothing to say.

'I'm against someone from Oto? At least I know what I'm getting into here.' Hinata thought.

'Oh man, Naruto will never forgive me if I hurt his girlfriend.' Dosu warned himself.

'I have a month to prepare for my fight against the one who beat Tenten. I will win, and if I don't...' He went on like that in his standard manner.

'Soon, the real fun will begin.' Gaara told himself.

"You all have a month to strategize and train or rest up. You must all remain in Konoha and show up on time or you will be disqualified. You may practice against anyone who's willing but you are forbidden from eliminating the competition before the match. Now, are there any questions?"

Shikamaru raised his hand. "I got one. Since this is arranged like a tournament, I'm assuming that means those that win their match get to pair up and fight other winners, until only only remains undefeated. Does that mean that only one person actually gets to become chuunin?"

'That sounds like such a waste compared to how many people actually take this test.' Haku thought.

"No, that's not it." Sarutobi told the Nara. "There will be judges there to evaluate you. If we were going by the process you just described, judges would be unnecessary. These judges will watch your fights and evaluate your skills, seeing who among you has the skills needed to become chuunin. Winning your match only means you have more than one opportunity to display your talents. Even those that lose their matches are not automatically disqualified from promotion; they just won't get another chance to prove themselves strong enough."

"So you're saying that there's a chance that all of us here could become chuunin?" Temari asked.

The hokage nodded. "Yes, and there's a chance that none of you will become chuunin too. Surviving all the way until the end holds no promise for promotion. Any other questions?"

Naruto raised his hand. "When the exact date and location for this?" 'I wanna make sure they don't tell us from Oto the wrong info so they can disqualify us for not being there. And they can't do that if everyone else here hears the answer too.'

"The date is exactly thirty days from now and the location is the Konoha arena just outside the city. Anything else?" No one spoke up. "Very well then. You are all dismissed for the next month. Use it wisely." He then looked at the Oto genin and their jounin behind them. "Oh, if I may have-"

Before he could finish his request to have a word with them all, all Oto nin disappeared in a shushin.


	55. Warnings

Ch. 55 Warnings

The Oto nins appeared right outside the borders of the Forest of Death. All except Kabuto, Kin, and Sasame who were still in the infirmary. Anko and Kurenai looked over their gathered protege. "Okay guys, we're going to have to be on high alert from this point on."

"What about Kabuto-sensei and Kin?" Zaku asked.

"I already sent them a snake letting them know we'd leave first chance we got and he should do the same. As soon as he can bring the others with him, he'll join up with us." Anko told him.

"That will make us look even more suspicious, like we've definitely got something to hide." Haku commented.

Kurenai nodded. "All ninja have something to hide. We do have secrets Konoha wants to know and they know we're not going to just give them the information they want. They'll try either bribery, intimidation, or force to get it, and I'm guessing the old man intended to do one of the first two options. He wouldn't risk force this early, not with Suna on our side. He couldn't explain to another village why he did such a thing to an ally's ally."

"But they will try force with me, won't they?" Hinata asked.

Anko nodded. "Someone will. The Hyuuga are likely to claim this is a matter just for them and no one, not even us, are allowed to get involved. The hokage is likely to agree as long as any actions taken can't be linked to him."

"So what do we do if we can't leave this village for a month?" Isaribi asked.

"We've got it covered. While you kids were taking the test, we jounin were scoping out the village to see just what we could use and where we can go. Subsonic helped us out a bit there too." Kurenai answered.

"My team and I saw Subsonic in the forest a few days ago." Naruto spoke up. "They gave us a small warning, and after experiencing the preliminaries, I'm positive they were right."

"What did they say?" Anko asked.

"Subsonic warned us that this entire exam was rigged to favor Konoha." Naruto answered, making his same-age comrades gasp in shock. "The village that appears the strongest gets the most business and the most money right? So to look the strongest, Konoha wants most of the ones who succeed in this test to come from Konoha."

"So we don't have a chance? Zaku asked angrily.

"Oh, we have a chance. Subsonic says that only Otokage-sama can decide for us. If the hokage had say over all of us from all the villages, what's to stop him from promoting only the Konoha applicants and denying us all so all the power is in his favor?"

Anko nodded sagely. "Exactly. If the local kage had all the power to decide rank, it would inevitably create just such a scenario, with each village one at a time promoting only their own ranks just to stay in balance with each other. Even if the ninja didn't truly deserve such a rank."

"I think there's more to this though." Naruto added. "Remember before the prelims? How out of 24 passing genin, 12 were from Konoha? Exactly half? How likely is that? And each one of them, and us too, was taking this test for the first time. What about the other teams that surely had done this before and knew what to expect? It's like someone was in the forest trying to eliminate the competition."

Everyone was silent for a moment. "That does make sense." Fuu said.

"But then, why did we get thru?" Dosu asked.

"Because if _only_ Konoha teams passed the second test, all the other kages would declare it unfit and a clear attempt to keep all the power to the hosting village. Which would risk retaliation, maybe even war, from another vengeful village. They have to let some of the visiting teams to get to the third round to avoid such a scandal." Kurenai claimed.

"Anyway, I'm not finished just yet." Naruto continued. "Did anybody else notice something odd about how the matches were set up?"

"Weren't they just random?" Isaribi asked.

"If they _were_ indeed random, why did nobody have to fight someone from their own village?" Naruto asked. "12 were from Konoha, and 12 weren't. Each person from Konoha ended up fighting someone from somewhere else. If the selection was honestly random, wouldn't at least one match-up be Konoha vs Konoha or Oto vs Oto? Or even Oto vs Suna?"

The two jounin's eyes widened, and Anko spoke up. "Otouto, you think that maybe those fights were set up?"

"I'm willing to admit there's a chance I'm wrong, but if I am, then why is it almost everyone of us from Oto had to fight someone from Konoha who happened to have a kekkei genkai or clan specialty?"

Everyone thought it over, and now it was glaringly obvious. They had fought against an Uchiha, an Aburame, an Akimichi, a Nara, a Yamanaka, a Hyuuga, an Inuzuka, and a Kurama. All of which had specialized fighting methods. Haku was the only one among them that had to fight a clanless ninja, but he still had a unique skill. The three clanless Konoha ninja with skills anyone could have, Sakura, Tenten, and Lee, all had Suna opponents.

"Naruto is exactly right." Kurenai told the genin. "There is no way that could have been coincidence. Konoha was definitely rigging the random generator."

"And there's only one reason why they'd rig it to get those type of fights." Anko added.

Naruto wanted. "They hoped to see one of us use the Unbloodline so they'd know who weakened their precious Uchiha."

"And protect themselves from other ninja of theirs from falling victim too." Hinata added.

Fuu arched an eyebrow. "By possibly sacrificing another genin's potential? Would they really ruin someone's future career just to find one kekkei genkai user?"

Anko clapped her hands once. "Okay, this changes things. From now on, no one goes anywhere alone. We won't assign buddies or anything, but no one is to be alone at any time anymore. Don't get into any fights with any Konoha ninja if you can avoid it, and alert us if someone claiming to be an authority figure tells you to go somewhere with them. International Chuunin Exam Laws state that genin cannot speak with the village's authority without their jounin sensei present so they can't demand you go without us. And when we do have to have a meeting with them, it's inevitable but we can delay it for a bit, but when it happens, let us do the talking."

* * *

Back at the infirmary, Kabuto was looking over Kin and Sasame, who were both awake now. "How are you two feeling?"

"I'm tired, and a little itchy, but I'm okay Sensei." Kin answered.

"I'm a little sore and stiff but I'm good." Sasame told the jounin.

"Can either of you stand on your own?" Kabuto asked. Kin struggled to remain balanced but could stand on her own power. Sasame however needed to lean onto the brunette for support. Kiba had dealt more damage than Shino had. "Good. I can treat you further, but we should go rejoin the others now."

"Excuse me." A feminine voice called out from behind the three Oto nin. Kabuto turned to see Yugao. "Hokage-sama would like to have an audience with you all right away."

"Now is not a good time." Kabuto politely replied.

"Even so, I'm afraid this is not a request. He wants to see everyone from your village in front of the hokage tower right now."

"In that case, may I at least tell the others myself?" Kabuto asked.

"I suppose it would make it easier for us. Okay, but you must be there in no less than five minutes." Yugao said before leaving.

"What do you think they want?" Sasame asked.

"Nothing good, that's for sure." Kin commented.

* * *

Within five minutes, all three teams from Oto stood before the hokage tower. None liked it, but when Kabuto came to them they knew they couldn't refuse without endangering themselves and the genin's chances at promotion.

A few Anbu stood nearby, keeping their eyes on the visitors. The door opened and Hiruzen Sarutobi was seen still in his robes and hat. Behind him were two masked guards, and to his right was an unmarked Hyuuga man who looked rather curious. "Ah, glad you could make it. Come, let's go talk in my office." The hokage greeted.

A miunte later, they were in his office along with the two Anbu guards who stood to the hokage's sides while he sat. Anko, Kurenai, and Kabuto stood in front of the hokage's desk while their genin stood behind them. "To what do we owe this honor Hokage-sama?" Anko said, having to force the honorable phrasing out but unfortunately years of experience meant this wasn't the first time she had to say something she'd rather not.

"Can't a hokage have a polite chat with those visiting his village?" Sarutobi gently asked back.

"Somehow I have a hard time imagining you do this for everyone who comes to these exams." Kurenai commented.

"You're right, I couldn't possibly do that. At least in the beginning of it. That's too many visitors at once for me." The hokage replied with a grandfatherly smile that his audience didn't buy. "I save it for after the third round battles have been arranged."

"I bet you don't usually get this many to congratulate in the past." Kabuto said.

Sarutobi nodded. "Indeed, and I don't usually do ask the entire team to come too unless all the genin earned the right to advance. Nevertheless, I'm willing to make an exception here, as it's quite an honor to have attendees from a completely new village here."

"And we're grateful you were willing to let us attend." Kurenai told him.

"You should also thank the kazekage, as it was his recommendation that you attend." He stated. The Oto nin tried to feign silent ignorance at hearing this, and the hokage continued. "Speaking of which, I'm a bit curious on your village's connection to Suna."

"I'm afraid we can't discuss our village's connections to another village as that could be considered treason on our part." Anko calmly stated matter-of-factly.

'It was worth a shot.' Sarutobi thought. "Very well. But I'm sure reasonable people such as yourselves could understand my curiosity. Any kage hosting the village would be curious about a brand-new village coming. And displaying such strong genin at the same time. I'm impressed that so many of the contenders in the finals come from your village."

'He's trying to flatter us to hide his jealousy and discontempt on that.' The three Oto jounin thought together without looking at each other.

"I understand that by law you cannot reveal certain details about your own village. And by International Chuunin Exam law I myself am forbidden from demanding such information, unless you've committed a capitol offense in my village." Sarutobi went on, but paused to narrow his eyes. "However, there are three particular matters of which I am privileged to demand answers regarding." His tone of voice showed he would not let them leave this room unless they cooperated.

The Oto shinobi were unintimidated by the senior citizen. Even so, Hinata made sure to grab Naruto's hand. At this point, she didn't care if people knew they were together.

"The first thing I wish to discuss is the report I received that one of my ninja, who has been declared KIA for over a decade, was seen in the company of some of your shinobi. Care to clarify?" Sarutobi asked, deciding to start on this one first since this was the matter he was least likely to get immediate results on and wanted to get it out of the way before the bigger issue.

'He must mean Kushina-san.' Anko and Kurenai thought. "Perhaps records of their death were greatly exaggerated." Kurenai offered.

"I doubt that."Sarutobi coldly responded. "Tell me the real reason why one of my shinobi is now allied with you or I'll accuse your village of theft."

"Theft?" Kabuto asked with an arched eyebrow. "Don't you mean kidnapping or abduction? You're talking about a person here."

"Since this person was declared dead then I can only charge you with theft of a body until I see proof she's alive." The hokage clarified. "So tell me, did your village somehow resuscitate her or did she turn traitor and leave?"

"With all due respect Hokage-sama, you're assuming we were personally involved and that we know this woman personally despite the fact that all you've confirmed is that the person in question is a woman." Anko clarified.

'Damn, I was hoping they'd slip up on that and tell me something I could use to trap them with.' The old man told himself bitterly. "For security purposes I cannot tell you her name. For all I know she could in fact be dead and one of my ninja was just tricked." He doubted it, but without proof he couldn't risk giving other villages the idea that Kushina was indeed alive and claimable. Who knows what they'd find if they went looking for her.

"Then for security purposes we can't tell you anything either." Kurenai replied.

Sarutobi inhaled on his pipe for a moment, pausing to buy himself enough time to think about how to get more out of them regarding Kushina. He ended up with nothing at the moment, so he decided to move onto the next issue after exhaling. "Very well then. In that case, I'll move to the second issue. Can you explain to me why a genin from your village happens to know the shadow clone jutsu, a kinjutsu known only to this village? Let alone is able to use it?"

"Oh that's simple." Kabuto politely said. "The shadow clone jutsu was a difficult jutsu to create. After all, all other clone jutsus use an element as the basis, whereas the shadow clone doesn't. According to our records, two people worked on it before the village's were created. I think one of them was a Senju and the other was a clanless shinobi who befriended him. They worked hard together and collaborated their efforts and findings until they found the successful means of performing the jutsu. The Senju brought the jutsu to your village, whereas the other shinobi brought it to ours."

Sarutobi tilted his head slightly to his right. "If these two were such good friends, why didn't they both join Konoha? Why did they part ways?"

Kabuto shrugged. "Don't know. Maybe they had a falling out. Maybe the clanless shinobi had family that moved to our home. There's a different between a clan and a family after all. I'm just telling you what our historical records tell us."

Sarutobi closed his eyes in thought. 'Their explanation does not sound impossible. I'm going to have to double-check the records we have on jutsu creation to be certain.'

"As for how a genin would know how to perform it..." Anko added. "He's just got a talent for it. Simple as that. I don't know how to make it clearer than that."

Sarutobi looked them over suspiciously. But he didn't do it for long. "Now, the final thing I wish to discuss is the fact that your group happens to possess something that's the property of Konoha."

All of the Oto nin frowned. "So now you _are_ accusing us of thievery?" Kabuto asked.

The Hyuuga frowned back and folded his arms across his chest. "Care to explain an _alternative_ means of you having a byakugan wielder in your midsts?"

Anko stepped forward. "If I may, I have an intriguing tale for you Hokage-sama and Hyuuga-san." She paused to see if she had their full attention. "A few generations ago, there was a Hyuuga born without the byakugan or any ability to use the juuken. The Hyuuga, being rather stubborn when it came to their clan's reputation, ousted this member as, in their opinion, a waste of flesh. This person, having no ninja training or pride, became unable to take the ridicule and seeked sanctuary. Your Nidaime Hokage granted them this and allowed them to leave Konoha. The Hyuuga never though anything of it, outside of being grateful they could pretend such a person didn't exist."

Anko then stepped back and turned towards Hinata for a moment. "This girl is that unwanted Hyuuga's descendant. Apparently the clan never considered the possibility that maybe their so-called blemish would be able to have kids with working eyes. That Hyuuga and their descendants became valued members of our country then hidden village, and thus we own our own byakugan fair and square."

This was of course a lie, but Hitomi did tell them that there had been such a Hyuuga during the Nidaime's time that did leave Konoha. There was a good chance that there were in fact free byakugan users out there like Anko described, but Hinata didn't originate from them. But they needed Sarutobi to believe that she was.

The old man had his pipe in his mouth but wasn't inhaling anything. He just looked at the Oto nin for any telltale signs that this story was false. The Anbu with him shared a look as if to ask each other if this explanation was at all possible. After a while, Sarutobi scratched a small itch on the right side of his chin. "If this is true, then perhaps you can tell me the name of this rogue Hyuuga that came to your country?"

"Her name was originally Mikomi Hyuuga, but when she married it became Hibiki." Hinata answered without hesitation, knowing he was trying to find a hole in their cover.

The Hyuuga attendee pulled a folder out of his white haori and opened it. "I have here a list of every Hyuuga that's ever been unaccounted for for any reason. Even if such a woman did exist, we'd have some record of her. For no other reason than to see if there's a chance such a birth defect could repeat itself by knowing the blood connection."

Anko waved this proclamation off. "By all means go ahead and look. You can't prove this woman never had children if you made an effort to ignore her as she left."

The Hyuuga looked thru the folder's files. "Did you find anything Hizashi-san?" Sarutobi asked when he stopped on one page longer than he had on the others.

The now-named Hizashi cleared his throat. "According to this, there was indeed a Mikomi Hyuuga born during the Nidaime's time who had normal eyes. She's listed as having no siblings and one non-Hyuuga parent, the mother, and exiled from the clan at the age of sixteen. The record claims she wasn't exiled sooner because of her father's influence within the clan. But when he died, the whole clan gave her an ultimatum, leave or die dishonorably. She left the village and after that nothing's recorded."

Sarutobi looked right at Hinata. "So how do you know how to fight like a Hyuuga then if your ancestor was denied training?"

Hinata looked at Anko for a second, who nodded at her student. Hinata then looked back at the hokage. "Mikomi Hibiki, my grandmother, may not have been allowed to be trained as a Hyuuga due to her handicap, but she was raised around them for the better part of two decades. Do you really believe she wouldn't at least understand the general principle behind their fighting style even if she couldn't perform it?"

Hizashi allowed himself to express a look of understanding. 'That does make sense.'

Hinata continued. "My grandmother had no interest or need to know how to fight, but when it became apparent that her children had a working byakugan, she knew we'd need to know how to defend ourselves from people wanting to claim it as their own. But since we had no way to actually use the authentic juuken, we improvised and created our own, which we call the surudoken."

"I see. Care to give us a demonstration of this surudoken?" Hizashi asked.

"No, I do not." Hinata plainly answered in a no-nonsense manner.

"But I'm sure the Hyuuga clan would like to see how wrong they were to misjudge your grandmother." Sarutobi offered.

Hinata suppressed a scoffing laugh, but a cough did escape her throat. When she fully suppressed her urge, she just looked at the old man with an amused grin. "Yeah right. The only thing they'd want to do is enslave me like they do their own relatives so they can keep my power for themselves and ensure no one like me is outside their control. So my answer is no."

Hizashi didn't know if he should be appauled or offended by her reply. "Nevertheless, the byakugan is the property of the Hyuuga clan and Konoha so-"

"My eyes are _my_ property old man, no one else's!" Hinata all but shouted, her fists clenched tightly at her side. "Konoha gave up the rights to have my allegiance when they decided my family wasn't worth the air we breathed! And _now_ that you see value in us, you think we're worth the effort to control? Fuck the Hyuugas for all I care! I am a Hibiki and proud of it! And I'm very close to our village's leader so targeting me is a huge political blunder!"

After she was done, Hinata took a deep breath and relaxed herself. 'Oh it felt so good to finally get all that off my chest.'

'Foolish little girl. We didn't work to avoid a war with Kumo just to let some other village have this kind of power.' Sarutobi told himself. "You're courageous to speak to us like that, I'll give you that much. Makes me wonder how you speak to your actual leader. However..." His gaze moved to the three jounin. "I'm going to insist you hand her over to the Hyuuga clan without any fuss. Refusal to do so will result in every qualifying genin here being disqualified from participating in the third round."

Each of the Oto nin gave off a wave of KI that collectively surpassed any the hokage himself could. "You would _dare_ deny deserving genin of a chance they earned simply to satisfy some sick desire to have control over one of them?" Kurenai asked venomously.

"How would you explain this to the kazekage?" Kabuto asked, just as angrily. "I'd love to know how you'd gloss over your attempt to steal one genin from another village and enslave her for your own in your explanation to your ally about how you treat his other allies. I'm positive that's a violation of the International Chuunin Exam Laws."

"There's nothing illegal about protecting my village's kekkei genkai." The hokage replied calmly.

Anko smiled, but it was not by any means a kind one. "Then we have permission to protect her, as her eyes are _our_ village's kekkei genkai."

"Your village considered my grandmother trash." Hinata commented. "It's not stealing to take and claim what someone else throws away."

"I'm going to give you one last chance girl. Come peacefully or risk hindering your friends and even a war with your village to ensure your eyes aren't used against us." Sarutobi directly told the young girl.

Anko looked at all Oto shinobi. "Everyone, on the count of three. One... two..."

"FUCK NO!" Each and every one of them shouted at the hokage and company, then vanished in a shushin.


	56. Caution

_This story has now reached the 'Over 2,000 Review' milestone. Thank you everybody and keep it up._

Ch. 56 Caution

"Well that could have gone better." The Anbu guard to Sarutobi's left said after the Oto nin quickly left his office.

"Why did you let them leave Hokage-sama?" Hizashi asked. "Couldn't you have activated the anti-escape seals after they came in?"

Sarutobi nodded. "I could have, Hizashi-san, however, there is a reason I didn't." He emptied his pipe. "If they had found themselves unable to escape via shushin, they would have made an effort to escape the hard way, by either damaging the office or fighting us to get out. They unfortunately had us outnumbered and we still don't understand their capabilities, so I felt a fight was best unavoided."

"Would they really do that?" The Anbu to Sarutobi's right asked. "They don't seem at all interested in risking their chances of getting promotions to chuunin and fighting you like you said would surely destroy any chance they had at remaining in the village long enough to even try."

"You have a point. But in any case, it's likely that in a group such as their's, not everyone in it had the same level of self-control. One would have started a fight, and it's likely the rest would have joined. In any case, their leaving tells me something we should keep in mind."

"What's that?" Both Anbu asked.

"The fact they were so eager to leave me so quickly, twice in fact, only indicates they have something they don't want me to find out. Something potentially bigger than their own byakugan wielder. Something... that may not be in our best interest."

Hizashi slowly nodded. "So what should we do about it?"

Sarutobi stood from his chair. "We must gather the shinobi council and make preparations for the chance this new village is hiding something. Go alert the shinobi council members and tell them to come to the meeting room in ten minutes. But remember, under no circumstances are the civilian members allowed to be aware of this. This is not their concern. If I see any of them in that room, I will hold all three of you accountable for telling them. Now go."

"Yes Hokage-sama." Hizashi and the two Anbu said before leaving to carry out their orders.

* * *

Ten minutes later Sarutobi was seating in the Hokage chair in the council meeting room. With him were the village's shinobi clan representatives, Hizashi Hyuuga, Tsume Inuzuka, Shibi Aburmae, Inoichi Yamanaka, Shikaku Nara, Chouza Akimichi, Unkai Kurama, and the Uchiha representative Danzou Shimura.

Shikaku looked at Danzou with displeasure, then addressed Sarutobi. "With all due respect Hokage-sama, since our last Uchiha is completely incapable of reviving his clan, I fail to see why we need a representative for a clan that's all but officially extinct."

Danzou managed to look sotic yet dead-serious when he heard this. "Don't discount the Uchiha just yet. We still have the option of bringing back Itachi you know."

Shikaku shook his head. "No we don't. Such a venture is doomed to failure no matter how you look at it."

The others looked curious, but Danzou allowed himself to frown a bit. "Care to explain Nara-san."

"It's simple really. Let's say we make the offer and Itachi Uchiha were to actually accept it. Every woman in the village sees him as a bloodthirsty monster and a traitor with only a sliver of morality in him thanks to him leaving his brother alive. No woman would participate in the CRA with him voluntarily, and if forced to by council orders, they'd be more likely to kill themselves than bed with him or let him influence their children. The only way to change his image and make him appear remotely acceptable would be to reveal the truth behind the Uchiha Massacre, but in doing so the image of the whole clan goes down the drain and no one would want to be associated with such a disgraced clan. Not to mention how crazed Sasuke Uchiha is likely to get in either scenario at seeing his brother be regarded as more valuable than himself or that his family isn't the epitome-of-perfection he's been led to believe."

Shibi nodded. "I agree completely. Trying to get Itachi to return here and restart his clan is a wasted effort. I'm not even convinced that if someone here did make the offer he'd accept. He'd probably assume it was a trap to get him back here so he could be executed."

Shikaku smiled then faced the hokage directly. "So you see Hokage-sama, since there's virtually no chance of the Uchiha clan having a comeback, and no clan currently existing, Danzou-san's role is completely irrelevant here."

"This is an outrage!" Danzou stated.

Shikaku just shrugged. "Uchiha clan law stated that without his sharingan, Sasuke is not considered a true member of the Uchiha. And Itachi hasn't set foot in this village for over five years. No Uchiha in Konoha, no Uchiha clan. No Uchiha clan, no seat on the council. No seat on the council, no need for you to be here Danzou-san."

Sarutobi nodded. "He is completely right. Danzou, your services are hereby considered completely unneeded effective immediately. Leave this room now."

Danzou didn't look it, but on the inside he was seething. Nonetheless, the war hawk stood from his seat. "Very well then, good day to you all." He then walked out. 'As much as I hate it, I have no choice but to accept this setback. Resisting would only ruin my credibility and reveal things I do not wish to reveal just yet. I will still get the power and authority I deserve, and this little inconvenience will not take me off my path. Besides, sometimes you've got to take a hit before you can deliver one.'

Back in the room, the remaining council members waited for Sarutobi to begin telling them what he had called them here for. "We have a problem on our hands. Over half of the participants for the third round of the chuunin exams are from another village. This will tell business that this new small village is stronger than we are."

"With all due respect Hokage-sama," Inoichi spoke up. "If you're planning on eliminating some of their numbers just to improve our own by comparison, I'm afraid I can't support such a prospect."

Sarutobi nodded. "I'm aware. That's not what I had intended anyway, as doing such a thing would attract the attention of the kazekage. A portion of our village's income comes from the wind daimyo and the kazekage is better connected to him than we are. If the kazekage were to tell him we did such a thing to our visitors, we risk losing money."

Hizashi looked puzzled. "Then why did you tell the genin you'd disqualify them if they didn't cooperate with your demand?" Several other council members looked confused and curious by this claim, but kept their mouths shut to hear more.

"That was actually to test their reaction." The sandaime stated. "There are still many unknown variables about this new village of Otogakure. We have been fortunate enough to be allowed to preview a sampling of their younger generation and some of the experienced ninja they've produced as well. Like we tell the chuunin hopefuls, the strength of the village is reflected in the strength of the shinobi it produces. I am quite curious to see the strength and mentality of this new village, and therefore I have no real intention of disqualifying them from the third round, unless they do something heinous."

Sarutobi then smiled. "But when I implied otherwise, they were quick to stick together even if it was risky to do so. That tells me that they fully understand the value of teamwork and bonds, something we encourage in our own ninja, and that they're going to be more cooperative with the law as to avoid giving us a legitimate reason to disqualify them. So now, we have little to fear about them acting out of line for the next month."

"Then why did you call us here if there's no alert?" Tsume asked.

"For one big reason." Sarutobi claimed calmly. "Since we don't know enough about this village or the ninja they sent to us, I don't want them to gain any reason to damage us while they're here. So I called you here to inform you that we are not to do anything to them without my direct authority. I need your reassurance that none of your clan members will interfere in this matter. I do suspect this village is hiding something from us, but we'll never know for sure if we encourage them to be defensive within our walls. From now on, I want all of you and your clans to be mindful but not openly hostile to the shinobi from Oto, and above all else be observant too. Hizashi-san, this goes double for your clan."

The Hyuuga head nodded. "Understood Hokage-sama. However, the problem will be getting my clan to be cooperative."

Sarutobi nodded slowly in response. "I'm aware of that. Which is why I've got something planned for what to do if any Hyuuga disregard my authority and take matters into their own hands."

"Meaning...?" Hizashi asked.

"I'm not going to say. Doing so now may only encourage Hyuuga members to act out rather than discourage. But I will inform you if the situation does call for it." Sarutobi then looked over the other council members. "Before I end this meeting, are there any issues regarding this group of foreign ninja any of you would like to address now?"

Unkai Kurama raised his hand. "I have one, Hokage-sama." When he saw he had the old man's attention, he continued. "My niece's instructor told me before this meeting was called that a boy from this group was her opponent in a preliminary round. After she faced him, she acted like a different person, at least according to the jounin. Since I had to come here before I could see this for myself, could you clarify this matter?"

Sarutobi thought it over, trying to remember everything about that match he could. "Your niece is the young girl we had to seal the powers of to ensure they didn't get out of hand again, right?" He asked, only to be certain of the situation. Unkai nodded. "When she began the match, she was nervous and eager to flee, but held her own and tried to finish the fight. Somehow, her opponent was unaffected by her talents, and that triggered a violent side in the girl to surface."

"Un... unaffected by Yakumo-chan's abilities?" Unkai asked in horror. 'How can someone be immune to her skills, even when they're sealed? Hokage-sama's right, we _do_ need to keep an eye on these ninja.'

Sarutobi nodded. "He held his own against her, and I suspect he used some kind of genjutsu of his own on her. I say that only because moments later, your niece was peaceful again and agreed to surrender the fight. It was a valid victory, but I was unaware of any long-term effects it may have. Go see your niece for yourself then we'll discuss this more."

Unkai nodded, and Sarutobi looked at the others. "Any other business?" None had any to offer. "Very well then. Remember my orders and carry them out. Inform those in your clans that need to know if you suspect they'd be likely to do something I warned against if let alone. Make sure they can keep quiet and out of trouble." No one objected. "Thank you, you're dismissed."

Everyone left, wanting to see their children to see how they did regarding the chuunin exams. Sarutobi meanwhile went back to his office. 'Now that I've got some time to myself, there's something I'd like to check out.'

* * *

After the preliminaries had ended, Kakashi led his three students outside the Forest of Death to the open field around it. Before they went anywhere, he looked at them all. "So what are we going to do now Kakashi-sensei?" Kiba asked. "What kind of training do we get for this month?"

"Wait! Kakashi-sensei, there's something I need to tell you." Sakura interjected. The jounin gave her his attention. "Back in the forest, one of those music note ninja did something to Sasuke-kun's face." She had already explained this to her two teammates in the forest, but no one else was informed.

Kakashi looked curious. "Can you describe it?"

Sakura nodded. "In a fight, Sasuke-kun was knocked out, and a brown-haired boy made his hands glow green then pressed one on Sasuke-kun's face. I asked him what he was doing, fearing something bad was going on, but he said we'd find out in a month or two."

'His hands glowed green?' Kakashi asked himself. 'Sounds like a standard medical jutsu. But why would one of those guys do such a thing?' "Sasuke, maybe you should go get yourself examined as soon as possible." Sasuke nodded.

"As for your question Kiba, I'm certain your clan has some plan for extra training during this situation. See what they have to offer, as they're more likely to be beneficial and time-consuming than my instructions alone would be." The cycloptic ninja offered, then looked at his other two students. "As for you two, just keep yourselves in shape."

Sasuke frowned. "You're not going to offer us _any_ training during this time?" He sounded rather infuriated at the notion.

"Why would we need it Sasuke-kun? We're not going to be in the finals." Sakura pointed out.

Sasuke turned his frown towards her. "Are you _that_ oblivious? The finals are not our only reason to train you idiot. We can still be called for missions during this month and especially after. Wasting this month will make it even harder to succeed next time we take this test. Do you care about your skills so little that you actually need to be told to do something about them before you decide to?"

Nobody paid any significant attention to Sakura's reaction at hearing this. Rather than look hurt Sasuke had chewed her out, the pinkette looked more... unattached to the situation. Like it didn't really matter to her. She didn't look happy, but neither did she look like her heart ached at being called stupid by her crush.

"With Kiba being involved in the final round, Team 7 will not be asked to do any missions outside the village. This way his involvement will not be risked." Kakashi stated. "But available members, i.e. you two, can still take D-ranked missions within the village. Feel free to do so for some extra money and try to keep your bodies in shape in the process." Kakashi mentioned.

Sakura arched an eyebrow. "Why are you saying that like you won't be around for the next month Kakashi-sensei?"

"Because I need to be available to offer Kiba extra pointers when and if he needs any, and do some jobs of my own in the meantime."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "You can still make time to teach me more. You know I need to learn more and grow stronger."

"Yes Sasuke." The former Anbu nodded. "But before I do, ask yourself this, what do you need the most?"

"Everything so I can be strong enough to kill Itachi."

"Before I teach you anything more, learn what your limits are and what needs to be improved first and foremost. Then I'll help you out. I'm not going to offer you everything I know all at once when some areas need more work than others first."

"What about me Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked. "I don't know what to do. Tell me."

"Think about it this way Sakura, if you're good enough to take the chuunin exams, you shouldn't need me to hold your hand anymore. Try coming up with some ideas on your own and motivate yourself, then I'll give you some more direction." Kakashi replied. "I'll see you around then." He made a small wave and disappeared in a leaf shushin.

Kiba grumbled. "I'm getting the feeling that he's not going to do much for me this month."

"He should be training me to get stronger." Sasuke claimed irritatbly.

"I bet he would." Kiba grinned cockily. "If you still had your sharingan. But now, looks like even he doesn't think you're worth the effort."

Sasuke wanted to put the dog nin down by declaring his inherent superiority, but truth be told he actually feared his teammate was right. Kakashi may not have been the perfect teacher, but he did at least always give them directions on what to do when they didn't already know. And he made sure they never killed each other when they got out of hand. Now, it sounded more like he wasn't too motivated to assist them. Like he had something else on his mind, something of a bigger priority.

Sasuke walked away with his hands in his pockets and his focus on the few feet in front of him. Kiba turned to see Sakura, who remained behind, somewhat worried she would hit him for what he just said. But she surprised him by giving him a gentle look. "Good luck in your training Kiba. I hope you win in your match." Then she walked away, not in the same direction as Sasuke had gone.

Akamaru barked, and Kiba nodded. "I know. She _has_ been acting weird lately."

* * *

Back in his office, Sarutobi sat down and looked over some forms. These particular forms were general entry info regarding the Oto teams, something all visiting teams had to provide the kage of the village in order to participate. Nothing too revealing was indicated in these documents, just things like name, age, rank, village affiliation, and number of times participating in the chuunin exams.

Right now, he was looking over the forms for the Oto teams because he was curious. 'I wonder if there are some clues to these youngsters that may be more apparent now after seeing them fight.'

He started with the collection of papers for Kurenai's team. "A team of nothing but kunoichi. A risky venture, but clearly a well-trained one to function so well. Judging from what I saw in their one-on-one fights, none of the girls showed extreme fear or hostility to their male opponents, which all three coincidently had, so that tells me they have yet to be victimized sexually on the job as most villages fear an all kunoichi team would be. I wonder how this village trains their women for the job."

After finishing his monologue, he took a closer look at the information. "Hmm... this is the team with a Fuuma member. If what Kakashi said is true, we should look into Land of Rice for the location of this village. But this ice user makes a mess of that, as that clan was known to be in Kiri. Unless they immigrated into Land of Rice during the bloodline purges and changed their name. The green-haired girl is a mystery to me but not a serious one. And the instructor doesn't strike me as anything significant as of yet." Kurenai was using a pseudonym Hiyuu to cover up her real surname, which would potentially alert the old man.

Sarutobi set these aside and pulled out the next set of files, which was Kabuto's team. "This team had the fewest victories, but they did have a few surprises. None of them showed any skills in taijutsu, or significant skills in ninjutsu, which makes their real skills a mystery to me. I'm surprised by their use of sound as a weapon. Their instructor is listed as a medic, so it's likely they have some medical jutsus too." He paused for a moment, now looking suspicious. "It almost looked like either their jutsu skills were limited, or they were afraid to reveal their full strength. Maybe they were ordered not to. But why? Now I'm even more certain this village has something it's hiding from us." He then scoffed, amused. "Then again, what village isn't?"

He looked at them a moment longer, then decided to move on to the third team from Oto. "This one has two kunoichi genin, a kunoichi jounin, and one male genin. They must have a lot of faith in the boy to keep these girls' virtue intact if they set up the team that way." He took a closer look at the boy's info. "Hmm... Naruto Urashi? Thirteen years old. Is the name and age just a coincidence? Young Naruto Uzumaki would be that old if he was still alive. His instructor is listed with the same surname, implying a family connection. Her name's interesting too, Anko Urashi, age nineteen. That's how old Orochimaru's goddaughter would be if she were still alive."

Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't stupid; he earned his nickname 'The Professor' for more than just knowing many jutsu. His words sounded ignorant, but his tone clearly revealed he was on to something, just not saying it directly. This is what he had been thinking while he said that last bit of dialogue: 'Did Orochimaru lie to me? I never saw the bodies, but I assumed they burned away in the fire. If they had lived, Anko and Naruto would be these listed ages. Naruto was definitely blonde with whisker marks, but he could be disguised to look like this ordinary brunette. As for Anko, if I remember correctly, ten years ago she had purple hair and liked dark modest clothes. This Anko sure doesn't dress modestly anymore, but the hair color matches. I wish I could be more certain, but ten years is too long a time to remember the appearance of someone you thought was dead.'

The old man reached for his pipe and filled it with tobacco. 'We've already talked to the byakugan girl, and the other girl didn't seem too special except for her use of a taijutsu native to Kiri. Either this village has an alliance to Kiri as well as Suna, or maybe she's like the ice user and left Kiri for a new home.' With the pipe full, he used a small fire jutsu to lit it and have a smoke.

"This village has too many questions attached to it for my liking." He commented to himself after he exhaled. "For now, I'm going to try the silent approach to learn what I can, to avoid an international incident I'd rather not have clogging up my paperwork. But once I've learned all I can that way, or need to act rather than watch, I'm going to show them why an old guy like me still has this position."


	57. Teams

Ch. 57 Teams

The next day, a pig-masked Anbu arrived outside one of the three hotel rooms the Oto ninja were staying in. He knocked and after a moment Anko answered. She was wearing a cream-colored robe, closed so nothing could be seen, and when she noticed the Anbu she did not look happy. At the same time she was rubbing her eye so it passed at morning crankiness. "Yeah whaddya want?"

"I'm here to inform you and your group that Hokage-sama has offered to allow your students to train in a few selected training grounds for the next month." The Anbu explained. "Gather your students and comrades and I will escort you all to show you where they are."

Anko yawned. "Fine. Give me a while to get us all ready."

The Anbu nodded . "I'll wait in the lobby for you." He then walked away.

Anko closed the door and resisted the urge to hit the wall. 'Dammit, that guy looks like the guy who tried burning otouto alive when he was three. I'd never forget that mask. And I've got to act civil to him for crying out loud! Oh I'm so going to enjoy going crazy a month from now. Be patient Anko, the fun part will come, the fun part will come.'

She then look at her sleeping teammates, where both girls happened to sandwich Naruto between them. "Alright, wake up and get a move on!"

Within ten minutes, all three Oto teams were in the lobby, where the pig-masked Anbu waited, along with the Suna team. Anko hid her displeasure, and had yet to tell anyone her memory of this shinobi.

The Anbu faced them all. "Okay, since all of you are foreign to our village, we're aware that you do not have prior knowledge to our training grounds. I am here to show you which training grounds have been selected for your use during this month. These are the only places outside Konoha's walls you are allowed to go, and we'd prefer if you were to inform the Anbu of your coming and going when using them."

The Oto and Suna nin all nodded together, which was a little weird to look at. The Anbu then continued. "I can guarantee that these grounds are proper for your needs so you can train without handicap, and that the Anbu will not be monitoring your every move while you train so you can train without needing to watch over your shoulders too. We will not force you to hinder yourselves for your own security's sake."

"That's good." Baki said. "But will we have to share them?"

"You will not have to share them with Konoha shinobi for the next month, as they will be directed to train elsewhere. And with four training grounds being provided, you all will not have to share amongst yourselves to keep your own training secretive. You are allowed to choose between yourselves who uses which one, so no team will be limited to only one area. From there, work it out between yourselves who trains where. And alert Anbu if anyone gives you a hard time about the right to use the grounds."

All Oto and Suna nin nodded in comprehension. "Good, now I'll show you all four you may use."

Over the next hour, the Anbu showed the foreign shinobi the approved training areas. The first one was Training Ground #2, north of Konoha and designed for target practice. The second was Training Ground #14, east of Konoha and set up for physical exercise and endurance, naturally one of the many Gai's team used. The third was Training Ground #27, south of Konoha and intended for ninjutsu practice and elemental manipulation. The fourth and final was Training Ground #39, west of Konoha and built to be a sparring grounds with several places to hide and attack from.

For today, Team Kabuto got #2, Team Kurenai got #14, Team Baki got #27, and Team Anko got #39. They agreed to rotate clockwise each day to get a mix for their needs, and all noted how the four were arranged in a way to make immediate access amongst themselves impossible. All genin would be getting training. In the words of Tsunade, a ninja's life is too short for someone to piss away a month of training, even if they're on break.

Anko's team was the last one to be shown their grounds, and the Anbu was happy to leave them to their own designs. 'Whew,I don't know what that chick's problem is, but I never once stopped feeling some kind of angry vibe come off her. It was almost like she had some kind of grudge against me. But I swear I never saw her before. I've only been an Anbu for a few years.'

Back inside the walls of the village, the Anbu stopped on a rooftop and took off his mask to look at it. "Maybe she's got a problem with the mask. I was told the last guy to wear the boar mask was demoted ten years ago because he angered Hokage-sama. Could she possibly have been offended by that guy too?" After thinking about it for a moment, he shook his head and put his mask back on. "Doubtful. She'd have to be about ten for that to happen and Anbu don't always wear their disguises on out-of-village missions. Maybe she just doesn't like pigs or Konoha in general. Either way, it's not my concern, as long as all she does is glare."

* * *

Kabuto addressed his students. "Okay, before we begin training, I want to say I'm glad you three stuck to our personal mission directive. I know it must have been hard for you all, but you will be rewarded for it."

Kabuto's team had been given an extra job by Orochimaru to do while in the test. The snake sannin told the genin that he wanted them to try to trick Konoha into underestimating Oto's forces, so they'd be less likely to prepare at their fullest against Oto. Orochimaru insisted he did not want them to take a dive, and if they were ever in a life-threatening situation to go all-out to their heart's content. However, when it came time to do one-on-one fights with no serious threat to themselves, he asked them to only use one or two moves apiece. His reasoning was that if Konoha didn't think they were a threat, then Konoha would direct their attention elsewhere, giving Kabuto's team the advantage of being ignored by the enemy so they could do some tasks unimpeded. The team didn't like it, but the Otokage promised if they did this, he'd offer his own mock-chuunin exam when they returned to see their strength without needing to play weak. Kabuto didn't like this, but admitted that with Naruto on one team and Fuu on the other, his team was the only one that could afford to risk not making it to the finals.

"Yeah it was hard." Kin commented. "If I was allowed to do more, bug-boy would have been full of holes."

"Doesn't he already have holes?" Zaku asked. "I mean, those bugs have to get out of his body _somehow_."

"You know what I mean." Kin responded, twirling a kunai, with the ring at the end of the handle around the tip of her left index finger.

"In any case," Kabuto continued, "From now on, don't hold back in your training or fights anymore. Unless we happen to have a spar with a Konoha ninja before the finals. If that were to happen and you suddenly double in strength, that'll be raising a red flag to Konoha. But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Dosu, since you did make it to the finals, you'll have to go all-out there, while Kin and Zaku will have to wait until we get home to get truly tested."

"Actually, I don't think I can go all out." Dosu countered, confusing his sensei. "If I did, Naruto would kill me."

"Oh he would not." Kin objected. "He'd just... mess with you a bit."

"Considering what he can do, that's what I'm afraid of." Dosu added.

"Okay, with that out of the way, let's get started on your sound attacks." Kabuto told his three students to regain their attention. "As you're already aware, you're all well-balanced in these regards. Dosu covers the close range, Zaku the mid-range, and Kin the long range. What I want you three to work on today is a type of jutsu Otokage-sama developed that will help you after using a sound attack. It's the leech palm technique."

"Leech palm?"

"Yes. The idea is to siphon off someone's chakra to refuel your own, done by making direct contact." The spectacled jounin explained. "If you three were to use it, you could use your sound attacks to disorientate your target and use the time they're unable to defend to get in close and steal their chakra."

"But sensei, if this technique requires you to use chakra, then how much does it help replenish your own?" Kin asked.

"That's a good question Kin. You see, this technique does require you to use chakra to steal your opponents, but mainly enough to compensate for the amoutn your using. So after you finish, you'll feel like you haven't used any, but your victim will feel the loss for sure. and if you get good enough with this, by the time you reach jounin you can actually steal more chakra than you use."

"Sounds useful." Dosu commented.

"Now here's how you do it." Kabuto began his lesson.

* * *

Kurenai looked over her own genin, who happened to be seated on the grass. "You three did really good, even you Sasame. I think the only problem in your fight was we all kind of underestimated how much effort the Inuzuka would put into fighting a kunoichi. Given what we saw in Wave, we probably made assumptions we shouldn't have regarding his skills."

Sasame nodded. "Yeah, I did sort of expect him to go down easy before he could do anything major. But that's my own fault; I won't do that again."

Kurenai nodded. "As for you two, you did great catching your opponents off guard. Fuu, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if no one outside Oto could tell just how you beat that Akimichi, which is a great thing since your opponent won't be able to effectively prepare against you in your next fight. Haku, unfortunately you did have to reveal your ice powers to win, so in your fight you're going to have to be creative in which jutsu you'll use to win. Also, like with Hinata, you're possibly in danger of being approached by 'recruitors' from Konoha."

Haku nodded. "If they do, I know what to do." 'Which is hang around Naruto-kun all the time like Hinata will. Maybe even take showers with him too.' She couldn't avoid the blush at the thought.

"Good. But just to be safe you better not go anywhere unescorted while we're here." Kurenai replied, and Haku nodded, trying to contain a perverse giggle at basically being given permission to do what she already intended to do. "Okay, for today let's work on your speed girls."

"More speed training?" Sasame asked. Their sensei had always favored making them faster. Kurenai believed that with their lower-body strength, kunoichi always had the potential to be faster than their male counterparts, which greatly helped out when they were running to or from something. And an all kunoichi team would be in, and already had been in, some situations where outrunning another was the key to success.

"Yes. Fuu's skill is strongly dependent on her speed to make it be useful. She did good in her fight, but her opponent's fighting method was more dependent on the inertia he could build up rather than his own speed so she had an advantage there. Her next opponent is likely to be slow but an expert on trapping the enemy so the harder Fuu is to catch, the better. At the same time, I'm hoping to work on the tunnel vision Fuu gets when running at such small sizes." Kurenai explained.

The biggest weakness Fuu had was that when she moved fast when really small, like insect size, she couldn't avoid getting tunnel vision while running. When Fuu became the size of a beetle or any, or anything close to that size or smaller, she ran at speeds that were like a full-grown human running close to 300 mph. Fast enough to make it difficult to see anything but what was right in front of you.

"As for Haku, with her opponent's methods her best chance is to be a good dodger and strike from behind. A wind user like Temari can attack virtually anything and everything in front of her, but leaves herself open to attacks from behind."

"I think I know what to do regarding her." Haku replied.

"You better have more than one plan. I'm sure she's got something up her sleeve for those kind of assaults." Sasame claimed.

"Sp let's do some laps." Kurenai gestured them to get on their feet. "Remember, Fuu, I want to see the most effort from you. We need you at the top of your game for this, so I may have to give you extra attention here. But rest assured Haku, Sasame, I will not neglect you."

The Fuuma and the ice wielder nodded, then joined the genjutsu expert and the green-haired jinchuuriki on a routine run.

* * *

Baki was with his team, who diligently awaited his orders like they always did. "Good you guys on getting this far. I must say though I feel sorry for Temari's last fight."

Kankuro blinked. "Her? Why not me? I lost. She at least gets to move on."

"Yes, she does." Baki commented. "But only because her foe in her match was no challenge at all. I know Konoha doesn't produce many good ninja outside their clans but I had hoped each of you would have some sort of challenge in the preliminaries. You and Gaara got those challenges Kankuro, but Temari practically had her victory handed to her."

Temari looked away, almost shamefully. "Temari, don't be upset. I'm saying your opponent fought poorly, not you. You were wise to not reveal your power unnecessarily. Doing so would have been overkill, even by ninja standards."

"Now_ that's_ saying something." Temari commented snidely.

Baki then faced Kankuro again. "As for you Kankuro, you did good but were unfortunately matched up against someone who moved faster than your puppet or it's weapons. Had it been anyone else, you most likely would have won. Which is why for some of this month I'll be helping you train to be less dependent on your puppets and also get you started at handling two at a time."

"That'll help. I've already got the second one started back home." The painted puppeteer declared happily.

The Suna jounin then looked at Gaara. "As for you Gaara, there's not much we can work on for you in a month's time besides new variations of sand manipulation. Luckily I brought along records of the Sandaime Kazekage's methods to help inspire you. You may not be able to replicate his magnetic chakra, but the sand portions of the techniques should serve you just fine."

"What do we do regarding anyone from Konoha we may encounter?" Gaara asked.

"Remember that Suna and Konoha are 'allies' so we should not give them any problems, but our bigger directive is to ensure they don't cause any problems for our allies from Oto. And considering what Konoha already knows about Oto, and wants to know, problems rising up are quite likely so be ready to come to Oto's aide at any given time." Baki told them. "But for now, let's work on creative chakra usage."

* * *

Anko was proudly grinning at her students. "Way to go you three! You're the only team to have all three members make it to the final round. Otokage-sama would be psyched to hear this."

"I wish I could tell Okaa-san." Naruto muttered.

Anko didn't lose her grin. "Don't worry, I already told her for you."

The three genin were momentarily confused, but they answered their own question just as soon as it came up. "You sent a summoned animal to Otokage-sama, didn't you?" Isaribi asked just for confirmation.

Anko nodded, and now her smile weakened. "Yeah, which brings up something I've been meaning to tell you three. I was told to instruct you three in an important jutsu, but considering our lack of mobility and the high risk of being observed, it'd not going to be that easy."

"What did you have in mind sensei?" Hinata asked.

"A technique not usually reserved for genin. Rather for high chuunin or jounin. However, I've been instructed to ensure you three learn it this month, as it will help you when this month is over." Anko explained.

"Why us though?" Naruto asked.

"Because otouto, you and Hinata here are possibly the two genin at most risk right now. You two are the ones Konoha's forces are most likely to approach for answers, and they may not be nice in the process. And Isaribi here is likely to be targeted too in hopes that by having her as leverage you two will be more cooperative and lenient towards this village." Anko told him. "What I'm supposed to teach you is primarily meant to be a messaging means between teammates and extra help in a conflict, but is not by any means an ability you should flaunt while we're here."

"Will this help us in the final round?" Isaribi asked.

"It could, but I don't want you three to use it in the matches unless it's completely unavoidable."

"Why?" All three asked.

"You'll understand after I show it to you. But for now, otouto, why don't you create a crapload of clones for us to spar with?" Anko continued.

Naruto nodded and created a large group of clones, numbering about forty or so. And then he and the three girls with him began a light brawl with the clones, or so it appeared. what was really going on was that Naruto had three clones in the cluster henge into Hinata, Isaribi, and Anko, using the commotion to avoid it being obvious, while he and the real girls quickly left the area henged into mice. When they left, only the disguised clones and one Naruto clone were left.

"Okay, now that we've wamred ourselves up. Let's try some basic physical and chakra control exercises along with target practice." The Anko clone ordered.

Meanwhile, the real team got far away enough that they returned to normal. "Good job otouto." Anko stated. She had already told him that spar request would be a cover for 'Create a bunch of clones with our disguises so we can get away unnoticed'.

"Why did we have to leave? Won't we get in trouble for this?" Hinata asked.

"Only if we get caught." Anko told her. "But it's a risk we need to take so you three can learn this jutsu. Which is... the summoning jutsu."

"The summoning jutsu?" All three asked, then Naruto perked up. "Great! Does this mean I can see Sango again more often?"

"Well, it's a bit more complicated than that otouto." Anko said sympathetically, knowing this would upset him. "I'm supposed to let you three each sign the toad, slug, and snake contracts, but each of you can only sign one."

"Ah, so that's why you had to get us away from Konoha's eyes. If they knew Oto had those summons, they'd know the sannin are on our side and that can only make things worse for us at this point." Hinata thought aloud.

"Exactly." Anko nodded. "Each of you has been granted permission to sign one, but I was the one who had to decide who signs which. And otouto, I think it's wiser if you sign the toad contract rather than the snake one."

Naruto looked hurt. "But... if I do that-"

"You'll still be able to see your snake friend. You just won't be able to summon her yourself again." Anko interjected. "The way I see it, the smart way to handle this is you sign for the toads, Hinata signs for the slugs, and Isaribi signs for the snakes. Here's why: Otouto, your father was a toad summoner so they're bound to be more supportive of you and some of his jutsus may require toad-style preparations first to learn. Hinata, you're a natural healer and require close range to attack effectively, so slugs can help with healing as well as immobilizing most enemies and even attacking from a distance. Isaribi, you need a summons who can swim in either fresh or salt water, which neither of the other options can do. Toads are freshwater exclusive and the slug contract doesn't cover sea slugs, but the snake contract does include sea snakes."

"But sensei, you're a snake summoner so won't that unbalance our strengths?" Isaribi asked.

"Not really. I specialize in summoning the land-based snakes and the constricting kind, although I do enjoy the venomous types too. With your fighting style, you'd be even stronger if you included swimming serpents and poisonous types, no matter what the water you're using. Tell me, do you three have a better way to decide who summons what?"

None of them could argue with her. "Do you have the contracts with you?" Naruto asked.

Anko smirked and pulled out a scroll. "Would I bring this subject up if I didn't?" She opened the scroll and unsealed all three summoning scrolls. 'I still can't believe the sannin actually allowed me to carry them on me for this trip. Jii-san I understand, since I signed the snake contract like him, but Jiraiya-sama and Tsunade-sama too? This must be really important to them to take this kind of risk.'

Once out, Anko unfurled the summoning scrolls in front of each genin that would sign it. "To sign, you need to write your name in blood and then leave a hand print in your blood too. You don't need to make a big cut, just a small one on your thumb, like so." Anko then bit her right thumb to show them what she meant. "Fortunately this kind of wound clots and heals quickly for ninja so you don't have to worry about much. Although you can probably imagine that it gets harder to do this since it tends to create calluses over time."

Each genin used a kunai to make the needed cut for blood and signed their names, each taking the time to notice the signer before them. For the toads, it was Minato Namikaze. For the slugs, it was Shizune. For the snakes, it was Anko. The three genin finished their signatures and smeared some blood on their hands to create an acceptable hand print, making the deal official.

"Excellent." Anko told them as she took the scrolls back and closed them, then sealed then away in her storage scroll. She quickly summoned her personal snake Kogyoku. "Take this back to Oto. Give it to Jii-san, and tell him hi for me." The purple snake nodded, curled around the scroll like a constrictor, and disappeared in a puff of smoke, taking the scroll with her.

"Okay, now that that part's done, let's practice actual summoning. But keep it small and quiet, and quick. We still need to get back before someone comes this way, and replace the clones without anyone noticing." Anko told them. "Here are the steps to summoning. first, get some blood across your palm, preferably the same one you just signed the scroll with. Then make the following hand sings: boar, dog, bird, monkey, and finally ram." Anko showed them each individual sign as she named them, and encouraged each of her students to mimic her actions. "Finally, channel chakra into your palm and thrust it on the ground, or right under you if you're for some reason not on the ground. The more chakra you use, the bigger the animal you'll get. So otouto, use as little as possible but not too little." Naruto nodded. "And that's how you summon. There are other means to get it done, but for now this is all you need to know. Now start practicing."


	58. Harsh

_A big thanks to BigCC for pointing out a major typo last chaper, which has now been corrected._

_We will get to the finals soon, but before that we have one or two more filler chapters to go._

Ch. 58 Harsh

Sarutobi was in his office looking at Kakashi, Genma, Asuma, and Gai who all stood before his desk. "Okay, I'm sure you all have plans regarding the training of your students for this month. Before you begin, I've got to inform you all of a few things. First, four training grounds are for this time off limits, to you and your students. Those grounds are #2, #14, #27, and #39. Those have been reserved for our guests. If they invite you or your students there, then you have my permission to accept. But I want written confirmation that they accepted your presence, so we can avoid any and all international conflicts here."

"Why would we train with them?" Kakashi asked.

"I said _if_ you decide, not _why_ you would decide." The old man told the cycloptic jounin. "Maybe you'd want your students to experience something new to train against. Or maybe you just want to be friendly to our guests."

"I think I'd like to see one of them mainly to hear from him the extent of my own students well-being." Genma said, sounding professional rather than anticipating something.

"By all means, if they approve. However, we, being you all and myself, cannot order them to give up their secrets. That is outside our jurisdiction. Just remember, don't go to their grounds and let them invite you first." Sarutobi reminded them, seeing the four instructors nod. "Okay, with that out of the way, tell me what you each have planned for helping your students. Gai, why don't you go first?"

The green-clad jounin smiled. "Training Lee for the upcoming exams will be a piece of cake for me. I'd like to ask for permission to go on some long distance runs with him to give him new terrain to practice on. And if the hospital approves, I'd like to work on improving his ability to resist most poisons."

"Poison resisting?" Asuma asked.

"Yes. Since Lee can't use jutsu, he'll need every advantage he can gain to overcome those that do use jutsu and other dirty tactics. Building a tolerance to most toxins is something he can do without chakra if he's exposed in safe doses." 'It's a shame he can't build a tolerance for alcohol though.' "As for my other students, I need to check on Neji's health first before I decide anything, and I think Tenten's more likely to want to know some more defensive skills so I'm going to help her in that area."

"Before you do anything, let me address a few concerns I have about your team." The hokage stated. "Your students do form a well-balanced team for the sort of thing you specialize in teaching. There is little I can say about your Hyuuga student, given that his training is more governed by his clan than you are, but your other two worry me. Your kunoichi struck me as overly dependent on her weapons while your other student didn't even use a single weapon. Considering his handicap I'd figure he'd at least have one to cover deadly threats."

"Lee does have a set of nunchaku hidden away on him, along with a standard set of kunai and shuriken that he did not need to use in his match. And Tenten comes from a family of weaponsmiths so weaponry is her comfort zone."

Sarutobi nodded. "In that case, I'll let you use the mountain training grounds we have to the east. I recommend you take provisions, as to get the full benefits requires more than one consecutive day there. I also recommend you expose the girl to new features and encourage her to at least sample one."

Gai smiled and nodded. "Will do Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi turned towards his son. "Asuma, your plans?"

Asuma cleared his throat. "Actually, I thought it would be best if I allowed the clan of my one passing student to train him instead. They would be better suited than I would be."

Saurtobi shook his head. "No Asuma, that's not how it works. In case you haven't noticed, each one of you has only one passing student. I'm still expecting you to provide them lessons and to your other students as well. This month is not meant to be a vacation for you."

'Damn.' Asuma and Kakashi both thought. At the same time, both realized something. Gai had Lee, Asuma had Shikamaru, Genma had Shino, and Kakashi had Kiba. Each one of them did indeed only have one student make it to the final round. That didn't look good on their parts.

"So, what do you plan on doing now?" Sarutobi repeated.

Asuma was momentarily quiet. "In that case, I suppose I can help improve Shikamaru's strategizing."

"And?" The hokage asked, his tone implying he expected to hear more.

Asuma looked confused at his father. "And?"

"What about tactics or exercise in which to achieve his strategies? Or help for your two other students?"

"Well, Ino and Chouji I figured would also get help from their clans. And the team is based on accomplishing the strategies that Shikamaru comes up with. So by helping him get better that way, I'm helping the team overall."

No one in that room looked like they supported that claim. Sarutobi sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose in an attempt to prevent a headache. "Son, can you hear yourself right now? You're placing all of the pressure of succeeding on one genin and relying on him to do the thinking for both himself and his teammates, while encouraging them to just let him shoulder that burden and mindlessly obey whatever he tells them. What happens when he decides he can't handle the stress anymore, or makes a mistake? What happens when the other two work with a different team and don't have anything to contribute because they've been taught to let someone else to instead?"

The bearded chain smoker tried to look sagely. "With all due respect Otou-san, the dynamics of the Ino-Shika-Chou team are already founded and set with little that can be done to improve it. If I get too involved I could end up compromising their balance rather than improve it. Helping them strategize and expose them to real life scenarios is about all I can do."

"In a way, you have a point." The hokage replied. "However, it feels to me you are making one fatal mistake. Your team is in fact an attempt to continue a proven working team for another generation. However, these children are not their fathers. No child is their parent's clone, but your methods require them to be such. Yes, the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi already teach their children how to work together as a team and collaborate their techniques, but your job as sensei is to give them new things to work with. New jutsus their parents can't teach them so they can surprise the enemy with something unexpected. Different exercise regiments so they don't just do the same ones over and over again. and ways to counter methods their parents probably never experienced themselves. Just sitting back and saying 'Do what your fathers do' is hardly what you're being paid for."

Asuma sighed, seeing he'd have little choice in the matter. "Well then, what do you recommend I do?"

"What I just said: Expose them to something new." Sarutobi told his semi-lazy son. Asuma wasn't a total sloth. In a battle he was quite strong and versatile. He was after all one of the Twelve Guardians, and you don't get to be one of those by being lethargic. Asuma's real problem was that he just wasn't good at interacting with others. He was a strong ninja, but not a people person.

"I'll see what I can come up with then. Maybe I'll have them train with the other teams to give them opponents of their own level to start out with."

Sarutobi nodded. "That's a start. But I want to see more than just that by the end of the month." Asuma slowly nodded, and Sarutobi turned towards the next jounin in line. "Genma, what do you have to say?"

"My first priority is determining the well being of my kunoichi student Yakumo. She seems fine, but I want to confirm the extent of what happened to her in her preliminary fight before I make any changes to her training regime. Once I do, then I'll plan accordingly. If things go well, maybe now she'll take her non-genjutsu-based training more seriously and rationally." Genma answered, receiving a nod of approval from the village leader before continuing. "The same pretty much goes for Sai and Shino. I'm trying to get them to gain methods outside their area of expertise to make them more rounded. Shino's the most understanding; he wouldn't have won his own match had he relieved solely on Aburame techniques. Now that he sees how dangerous it is to deliberately handicap oneself by limiting what you learn, he'll be more eager to learn kenjutsu from me. I hope it rubs off on Sai so he'll try to fight without his drawing set too."

Sarutobi didn't show it, but he was glad at least one of the four in front of him was already planning something like this. Or maybe he learned from hearing Gai's part of this meeting and had time to cover anything else he may have had in mind. "Good. In that case, you may use any grounds designed for kenjutsu. See me again at the end of the week so we can discuss if you need someplace different."

Genma nodded in approval, and the sandaime moved on to the final jounin present. "Kakashi, indulge me in your plans."

"At this moment, I have none." The Hatake admitted. "Kiba's training is best left to his own clan so there's virtually little I can do better than them. Sakura has already admitted little to no interest in training period this month, and Sasuke needs to find out for himself just what he needs to prioritize."

Sarutobi shook his head. "Kakashi, I'm not going to allow that approach. You are to get involved in their training this month each day you are not on a mission. Surely someone who knows a thousand jutsu has something to teach them all during this time. When it comes to the Inuzuka, yes his family is better equipped for him, but you could do like Genma and expose him to something new. For the Haruno, if she's not motivated on her own, _make_ her motivated. That's your job. And for the Uchiha, you have a point, but if you leave him to do it by himself what do you expect him to accomplish?"

"I expect him to finally realize what he doesn't excel in. I hate to sound like I approve of what our enemy did, but without his sharingan and the ego boosts, Sasuke is finally starting to understand he's not 100% in every conceivable aspect. But if I were to point out his weak points to him now, it would be no different than every other time I or someone else tried. By seeking the answers himself, Sasuke is much more likely to accept what he discovers, even if it's not flattering. Once he finds something, then I'll help accordingly."

"Okay, and in regards to the other two?" Sarutobi asked.

"They can manage."

Sarutobi frowned, as did the other three jounin. Asuma was the lightest frowner, mostly because he had tried a similar approach. "Kakashi, you have a team of three. Not one,_ three_! Just like with my son here, you cannot say only one deserves actual attention and direct instructions. I expect you to provide training to them all within the month and I will be keeping tabs on your efforts."

"But I don't know what to do that wouldn't interfere with the Inuzuka's or have a way to make Sakura take it seriously." Kakashi countered.

"Ask the Inuzuka's themselves to reach a compromise. Order Sakura to do her training with more than the bare minimum. Your job is to motivate your students, not wait to be motivated by them. Remind her who's boss, train with her, bribe her if you have to. Just do _something_ dammit! I'm paying you to teach, not babysit."

Kakashi reluctantly sighed. "Fine, I'll come up with something."

"Good, because I'll be watching tomorrow. And if you really need an idea, tell Sakura that if she wants to stay a ninja, she better train like it or I'll have her removed from the ranks. With her being a genin and not from a clan, there's no risk or conflict in doing so. I'm not going to keep paying someone to keep being a shinobi when they regard it as a chore rather than a lifestyle."

Kakshi slowly nodded. "I'll let her know right away Hokage-sama."

* * *

Sasuke right then wasn't working on his skills though. He was doing something a little more important.

He was going to the eye doctor.

That may not sound like that important a thing to a civilian, but to a shinobi it was incredibly vital. Especially for the kind like Sasuke who had doujutsus thus needed to ensure their eyes were in good condition. Heck, he and the Hyuuga were probably the optometrist's most frequent customers. As for other ninja, considering the fact that the majority of information a human requires is done by use of sight, to do their job well all ninja required good eyesight. Most ninja requiring corrective lens resorted to contacts, but there were glasses available for off the job and for civilian customers as well.

Sasuke made an appointment mainly because of the event in the Forest of Death where he encountered the Oto team that did something to his face, with no clear results. He was worried they did something else to his eyes, maybe making him go blind little by little. He needed an expert to give him an exam to be sure his eyes weren't going to get any worse before they got any better.

Despite the necessity of this visit, Sasuke still disliked having to do it. Mainly because the one specially-trained optometrist in Konoha was a woman that he didn't get along with too much. Her name was Mako Ichiba, a brown-haired woman old enough to be his mother who wore black-rimmed glasses and always gave him a look of disapproval and pity. Like she thought she knew everything about him and didn't approve. Sasuke didn't approve of her much either since she never catered to him whenever he flaunted his name around back when he had his sharingan, even though it wasn't active back then.

"You're not the only one with a doujutsu so you're not the only one who's important in my line of work." was her justification to him.

Sasuke went thru the procedure, consisting of looking at an eye chart and a direct examination of the eyes themselves, and now waited the results. Mako came into the room with a clipboard, readjusted the hairband she wore as she did so. Her hair only came down to about her shoulders, but that's because a hairband wrapped around her forehead held it up like that. It would probably hang down to her waist if she let it loose.

When she finished fiddling with her hairband, she looked at the young boy then the charts again. "Well Sasuke, according to what I've found, your eyes are still in good shape. No different than any other time you've had an exam."

Sasuke wasn't convinced he was in the clear though. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am. Your eyes are fine."

The emo avenger then scoffed. "If they _were_ fine I would still have my sharingan."

"Life's unfair Sasuke. Get used to it." Mako replied without empathy.

That comment made the young Uchiha glare at the eye doctor. "Shut up you old bitch! You have no right to devalue my life and pain."

Mako was undaunted. "Your life, maybe. But your pain, yes I do have the right. Why? Maybe you haven't noticed young man, but you're not the only one who lost someone important to them. My own family was wiped out too, even my husband and sons died. Almost all of your former classmates and teachers have lost at least one relative to someone else, but you don't hear them piss and moan like the world's giving them nothing but crap."

"That's because they weren't Uchihas." Sasuke replied.

Mako stomped her foot and got right in his face, her own glaring brown eyes actually sending chills down Sasuke's spine. "Don't you _dare_ talk like that young man! Uchihas are not the only ones in this village that matter. I don't ever want to hear you undermine the importance of another person's life or death simply because of their name. One of my best friends gave her life to save me and others from dying. Are you going to trample her sacrifice simply because she's not related to you?"

Sasuke didn't know what to say, so Mako continued her little rant. "You used to be such a nice boy Sasuke, then you have one bad day and all of a sudden you hate everything and everyone except yourself. What would your mother say if she saw you like this?"

Sasuke decided to speak up right then. He had been put down by this woman before, but never regarding the subject of the Uchiha Massacre. "Shut up! You give me crap about devaluing the pain of others, and here you go saying my own pain isn't that important? My life is miserable thanks to Itachi!"

"No, it isn't." Mako countered. "Your life is not miserable. You've just had one bad day that you're so fixated on you ignore all the good days you've had, before and after."

Sasuke surprised her by punching her hard in the jaw, making her stumble and fall backwards, landing on her posterior quite hard. Sasuke himself rose from the chair he had been sitting in. "You low-life bitch!" He looked like he was close to striking her once more. "My whole family is dead! Everyone I ever cared about is dead!"

"So is _my_ family!" Mako all but screamed in his face, getting up quicker than he expected her too. Up close, he saw her hard eyes contain both anger and... sorrow? She was crying too, but for reasons he couldn't understand. "I told you Sasuke, you're not the only one here who lost everyone who mattered to them. Everyone I ever cared about it dead too. I understand your pain far better than you give me credit for. And it breaks my heart to see you act as you do."

She held back a sob, looking sadder, but continued, as if she couldn't stop herself. "I can remember back when you were still just a little boy. You were nice to everyone and full of smiles. All you wanted was to do your family proud, and maybe hear some praise from your father. Your mother... only had good things to say about you. Then one exceptionally bad night, and you become a completely different person. One who never smiles unless another suffers. One who acts like names define people. One who takes everything he gets for granted and covets everything that isn't already his, even if he shouldn't have it. What happened to the young Sasuke Uchiha I used to know."

Despite her tears, Sasuke remained cold to her. "He grew up. That's what happened."

Mako wiped her eyes but the tears wouldn't stop. "No, he didn't grow up. He's still a little kid. If he did grow up, he wouldn't demand respect by saying his name like it's holy or something. He would realize... that a ninja makes the name, not a name makes the ninja." She then rubbed her jaw where it still ached. "And he certainly wouldn't hit someone just for saying something he didn't want to hear."

"You still shouldn't have said it." He responded without remorse.

Mako sadly sighed. "This is what I don't like about you Sasuke. I know you are a good boy deep down and can be again. The problem is you've gotten so used to being treated special that you've grown to expect it rather than appreciate it. And because you don't appreciate the special treatment, you don't appreciate the people offering it or the reason why. You've grown to believe that this is your world and we all just live in it, and if we do we might as well be of use to you. If you ask me you _deserved_ to lose your sharingan, because now your eyes can truly be opened."

Sasuke didn't know whether to be shocked or enraged by her claim. But the strange thing was part of him agreed with her. 'I have gotten too used to the way people regarded me. I never thought they were doing it just to be nice or in hopes I would return the favor someday; I just figured they were supposed to do it. And the fact that I don't have my sharingan anymore is the only reason people are being honest with me now. Maybe she's right. Maybe I have been overestimating my own worth and underestimating everyone else's.'

Mako sighed and shook her head while she hung it. "Whatever. Your eyes are fine and show no signs of harm. There's nothing else to do here, so why don't you go do whatever you want so you don't need to keep hearing what a 'low-life bitch' like me has to say?" She sounded like she wanted to cry like there's no tomorrow now, for reasons Sasuke couldn't even guess at.

Nevertheless, the Uchiha boy shrugged. "Very well. Thanks for your help. I'll be back in a month for another check-up then." He then walked out of the store and went towards his home.

Before he got there, he saw Sakura approach him. "Hey Sasuke-kun. How are you?"

He groaned and kept walking. "Just getting my eyes checked. Doctor says they're as fine as you could expect of them now."

"So what did that guy in the forest do to you?" Sakura asked.

"Don't know."

They walked in silence for a bit long, and Sakura managed to say what she wanted to originally. "Sasuke-kun, what do you think about me?"

Sasuke made no effort to hide his groan or annoyance at the question. "Sakura, I told you before that you annoy me. You ramble on about nothing all the time, you never take your ninja career seriously, and worst of all, you act like you can't have a different opinion than me. I don't know what I want in a girl, but it certainly isn't a brainless chatterbox fangirl." The whole time he talked, he never actually looked at her.

"But is there a chance you will accept me someday?" She asked.

"That depends. Can you stop being someone who prefers to just agree with me rather than actually think for herself?" He asked back.

Sakura's eyes widened. "Is that... really how you see me?"

"What do you expect? After finding out that this village used me for their own gains, the last thing I want is another mindless yes-man pretending to be my friend."

Sakura came to a stop. Sasuke kept walking, but stopped when he noticed and turned to look at her, his expression questioning. "So you wouldn't mind if I started seeing someone then, huh?" Sakura asked, her tone a tad bit challenging, as if daring him to say 'no'.

Instead, Sasuke looked perplexed. "So you're giving up on me too?" He sounded like he didn't care what her answer was, just wanted to confirm what he had heard.

"It's more like... I'm thinking of having other options too. If I don't get a clear sign from you that staying loyal to you is going to pay off, then I might as well do as Obasan says and find someone else."

Sasuke arched an eyebrow. "Pay off?"

"I've given you all my affection for years now. If you're not going to return the favor, let me know now so I stop wasting my time on a dead-end pursuit." The pinkette explained, looking slightly irritated as she did so.

"Then tell me why you've decided this now." Sasuke insisted.

Sakura sighed. "I guess... I've just started to notice things about you I didn't before. I'm willing to overlook them, but I need to know you care in return first."

"What 'things'?"

Sakura held her hands together in front of her and looked a little meek and sheepish right then. "Like... how you're not as strong as I thought you were. Or as polite. Or as secure in your future."

Sasuke frowned. "So basically I'm not perfect to you anymore and you've lost interest? Just like the other girls?"

Sakura frowned back. "The other girls lost interest because you offended them, not because you weren't perfect. And you're starting to offend me too. So give me an answer, or I'd decide myself."

Sasuke turned away, still looked annoyed. "I'm not interested in a relationship with anyone right now Sakura. You want one so damn badly, be my guest and look for someone else. My advice though, don't expect them to be perfect."

Sakura sighed. "Fine then. Thanks for letting me know then. Bye Sasuke-kun." She then walked away. Sakura surprised herself by not shedding a tear over his refusal.

Sasuke just shrugged the whole thing off and went home.


	59. Hyuugas

Ch. 59 Hyuugas

A week had gone by and so far no one in Konha had disturbed the Oto or Suna teams. And in return those teams had not disturbed anyone in Konoha. Most of the supply runs had been done by the jounin, but the genin were allowed to have some free time to look around the city and relax, so long as no one did it by themselves. Thus Naruto always found himself in the presence of one of his girls. He didn't mind, because it gave him a glimpse at what life would be like for him once the harem project became official. He hated calling it that, but he could think of no better way to describe it.

Overall, things had been surprisingly peaceful for the visiting shinobi. But tonight, that was about to change.

"Naru-kun, I'm ready to take a shower." Hinata teased her fiancee. Since her sensei declared she was unallowed to be alone for any amount of time, the past week she's had to clean up with a partner. In her case, that meant Naruto. Not that he had actually washed up with her, more like he waited in the room as she showered. The curtain kept them apart but Hinata made no effort to hide her naked body during the times he got a chance to see it. Apparently skinny-dipping a week ago made her less inhibited on this subject.

"No Hinata, you've had him each day so far. Let me have a turn for once." Isaribi told her teammate.

"I'm just following orders Isaribi." Hinata replied. "I can't be alone for any amount of time."

"Why don't the three of you share for once?" Anko asked, never lifting her eyes from her book as she did.

Isaribi clapped her hands together. "Great idea sensei! Our first threesome!"

Now Anko looked up. "You want me to change my mind?"

"You think we'd listen if you did?" The swimming enthusiast asked back.

Anko sighed. "Fine! All three of you go get cleaned up. And that means no going past second base, understand? Just be glad I'm not limiting you even further and I _can_ do that." Anko told them, and all three knew immediately that she was not to be tested on this.

Before either Anko or Naruto could object, Hinata and Isaribi took ahold of the young boy's arms and swiftly dragged him into the restroom. Anko smirked and went back to her book.

Inside the washroom, Naruto didn't know if he should consider himself lucky or not. "First skinny-dipping and now showering together? Should I be worried that so far all the perverted things so far have _not_ been my ideas?"

"You should be glad you have girls that are willing to go along with this." Isaribi said as she pulled her top over her head, revealing an aqua blue pastel bra without straps. "Just imagine how eager we'll be when you do decide to start the fun parts." She then pulled down her skirt, revealing a matching set of panties.

Naruto blushed. "Weird, even after seeing you in a bikini over a hundred times, seeing you in your underwear gets me..." He struggled to find the right word.

Hinata hugged him from behind and began lifting his shirt off. "Excited? Worked up?"

"Yeah, that sounds right." He said after his shirt was off him. He turned and saw Hinata's chest already was completely bare but she still had a pair of white panties on, but not for much longer since she started to slowly pull them down.

'I can't believe how one session of skinny-dipping and a week's worth of showering with him in the same room has made me so... unembarrassed about showing Naru-kun my naked body.' Hinata told herself as she stripped in front of her betroathed. "Like what you see Naru-kun?"

"You've asked that every day Hina-chan, and my answer's still the same. Yes!" He told her with a pleased grin.

Isaribi, now fully nude too, moved to stand next to Hinata. "And how do I look Naruto-kun?"

"You look great too Isaribi-chan." The disguised jinchuuriki said with a blush. Part of him didn't want to, but he couldn't avoid having his eyes scan her body up and down.

Isaribi saw this and just smiled. Then she grabbed his hand. "You can do more than just look you know."

Hinata struggled to stay out of this. 'Calm down girl, this was bound to happen, and it's not like he hasn't already touched already.' She tried to hide a perverse smile as she recalled the day Naruto cupped her breasts from behind. When she saw Isaribi place Naruto's hand on her breast, Hinata found herself actually not minding it. 'I think I'm getting better at this sharing thing. Good, I don't want to lose Naru-kun by being possessive.'

All of a sudden, the window in the room fell out of place and down to the street, shattering on the pavement since they were on the third floor of the hotel. The sound of the glass falling and the sudden rush of cool night air caught all three's attention. But that was nothing compared to the man who barged in thru the window wearing a plain black ninja outfit and a white mask with no features other than thin eyeholes.

Hinata and Isaribi immediately tried to hide their bodies from this intruder while Naruto made a defensive stance in front of both girls. The intruder showed no sign of intimidation and swiftly threw a dozen smoke bombs onto the floor, blinding the genin and making them cough strongly.

Naruto, despite the difficulty he had breathing, managed to activate his Neo-byakugan to see what this guy would do next. Moving at jounin speed, the intruder threw some wire at Hinata that wrapped around her and ensnared her quite effectively. Hinata then activtaed her byakugan, not wearing contacts this time, but there was little she could do now.

Naruto was able to make only one strike against the intruder, using a surudoken move on his right leg, before the intruder grabbed ahold of Hinata and took off with her.

Now, he was pissed!

Thinking quickly, Naruto made a clone to stay and watch over Isaribi and inform Anko of what happened while he jumped out the window and followed the guy who kidnapped Hinata. Thankfully he still had his pants on at this point, and that his Neo-byakugan could ensure he wouldn't lose track of his target.

'Dammit! I can't catch up to him unless I use a different kekkei genkai. But once I turn this one off, I'll likely be unable to keep following him. He could easily disappear in that nine second gap.' Naruto told himself angrily. 'But why isn't Hina-chan screaming for help? And who is this guy anyway?' A closer look with his doujutsu gave him at least one clue. 'So, this guy is a Hyuuga? That must be why Hina-chan's being silent. Over my dead body you're taking Hina-chan away from me!'

Naruto tried picking up speed, but he still couldn't catch up. 'I sure hope this works.' He told himself as he got an idea and formed the ram sign. "Five Trigrams Wind Punch." He said as wind chakra collected in his open palms, much like the Hyuuga technique Air Palm. He placed his open hands in front of himself and then the chakra fired out and towards the calves of his target. The effect was like being hit with a sledgehammer in the shinbones.

Even though only the right calf had been hit due to the running, the intruder lost his balance and fell forward, crashing onto the rooftop. He dropped Hinata who fell on her side hard, wincing a bit from the impact and the small cuts the wires made on her skin in the process. Ignoring all that, the young girl attempted to get to her feet with her arms bound to her side and her legs bound together too. 'I gotta get out of this, but how?' She asked herself, starting to actually panic now.

The kidnapper got back to his feet but by then Naruto caught up and sucker-punched the guy in the jaw. The kidnapper stumbled but didn't fall down. Still angered, Naruto decided to use some techniques his Neo-byakugan allowed but Hinata's byakugan couldn't effectively accomplish. "Six Trigrams Chaos Shuffle." He struck roughly seventy neural points on the disguised Hyuuga, using a method inspired by a disabling technique he learned from Tsunade.

Naruto stopped to free Hinata, while the kidnapper tried to stop him. Unfortunately, when he tried to move his legs, he bent his elbows and when he tried to reach out his hand his abdomen bent forward. Naruto had effectively screwed up his nervous system, making all the signals his brain sent to his body go to the wrong body part. He wasn't going to be a problem to them for now.

Having no weapons on him at this time, Naruto used the sharpened chakra points of the surudoken to cut the wire. Her hands free, Hinata started helping him. "What do we do about him?" Hinata asked.

"I think we should let the others decide that one."

* * *

The next morning, as Sarutobi walked towards his office, he was greeted by his secretary and the Suna team, and the Suna ninja did not look happy. "Can I help you?" He asked.

The secretary responded. "Our guests from Suna wished to speak to you immediately Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi nodded briefly to show acknowledgement for hearing this. "Very well, join me in my office." He led them to his office and after they were inside he activated the privacy jutsus and sat down at his desk. "What's on your minds?"

Baki stood before his students. "I'm going to have to be frank here Hokage-sama, as there is no way to sugarcoat the situation. Last night, a Hyuuga attempted to abduct one of the kunoichi genin from Oto. She was saved thanks to her own team able to get her back, but this event is clearly a hostile sign. And since Oto is our ally as well as Konoha is, we must act here as mediators to avoid unnecessary conflict."

Sarutobi sighed. "I had a feeling this would happen. Need I ask just which kunoichi was abducted?"

"I think it's more than obvious which one it was."

The elderly hokage nodded. "As I thought. I did order the Hyuuga clan to not do something drastic in this matter-"

Temari cut him off. "But did you tell them not to do anything at all, or just nothing major?"

The old man frowned at her. "You dare imply that I subtly told my ninja to act around my own orders?"

Temari shrugged nonchalantly. "All I'm implying is that if we could interpret that meaning from your words, who's to say that they couldn't as well? Or maybe they chose to say 'screw the orders let's do what we want anyway'?"

"I would suggest you not slander my ninja so carelessly." Sarutobi told the blonde kunoichi.

Gaara narrowed his eyes. "You're more concerned about slander than the actions behind the one being slandered?"

"Getting back on topic," Sarutobi said. "I made certain to order my ninja to not do anything against your allies. I understand full well the conflict and issues caused by such an action. However, the Hyuugas tend to have a myopic view when it comes to their security. I could imagine that if I had eyes that could see everything around me, I too would be extra cautious regarding the thought that something may happen that I couldn't see coming."

Sarutobi rested his chin on his clasped hands, elbows on his desk. "Naturally, there must be quite an uproar regarding the fact that there is a byakugan wielder outside the village and outside their jurisdiction. They've probably spent this entire week looking for any means to legally acquire her regardless of what the other village may claim. And I don't need to be a Hyuuga to know that village and clan law both dictate no right to just up and take what belongs to another village."

"Which is why I suspect they're not going to obey the law and just take what they feel they're entitled to." Temari commented.

Sarutobi looked at Baki. "Does Suna allow all their genin to speak like this to those in charge?"

"This girl is the daughter of our kazekage, and he actually encourages all his children to be open when talking with him, especially regarding important issues." The semi-masked Suna jounin replied.

Kankuro nodded. "Otou-san says even if he doesn't like what he's hearing, he at least respects someone who speaks honestly rather than someone who sugarcoats their views to avoid sounding bad."

"Be that as it may, I am not your father so I would prefer it if you spoke more discreetly in my presence." Sarutobi told them.

Gaara looked confused. "So you wish to only hear what pleases you? Surely as a ninja you are well aware that is not always possible."

"I mean speak respectfully young man."

"We are speaking respectfully by speaking truthfully." Temari commented. "And from our perspective you seem to pay little to no mind about how your village just disrespected another village if you wish to talk about showing signs of respect to others."

"Fine, then let's stop getting off subject. As I was saying, I ordered the Hyuuga clan to keep their hands off that girl in question and warned them I would have to take action if they didn't. Can anyone identify the accused Hyuuga?"

Kankuro took the bundle on his back off and placed it n front of him. He then unwrapped it, but instead of his karasu puppet, inside contained the aforementioned Hyuuga, greatly surprising Sarutobi. "We didn't want to just hand him over to your legal forces, on the suspicion they would sweep this incident under the rug, and we couldn't just carry us with him in plain sight, so this was the best way to bring him here. If you have a better way in mind I'd love to hear it."

Sarutobi just stared at the still confined Hyuuga laying on his floor for a moment. "No I don't believe I do know a better way. I thank you for avoiding causing a scene, but I do wish you chose not to take this matter into your own hands."

"We were just watching over our allies Hokage-sama." Baki stated politely. "We are entitled to do that."

Sarutobi nodded. "Indeed you are."

"Speaking of watching over," Temari started, heedless of the hokage's desire for her not to. "We heard and saw evidence that says this guy here was able to remove a window on a supposedly secure building, enter, and get out, all within a minute. Why was our hotel not being watched over by your village security? Did they not notice or choose not to intervene? And what really bothers me is that it looks like the window was removed as if unbolted from place, telling me this guy here had prepared for this earlier and just acted last night."

Sarutobi looked at the tied up Hyuuga. "Is this true?" The captive just nodded sadly. Sarutobi then looked at the Suna nin. "Rest assured that this man will be effectively punished for threatening our village alliance by attacking one of your other allies. I can only hope that this won't affect our village's ties."

Baki smiled. "As long as justice is served, I don't think you'll have to worry about that Hokage-sama."

* * *

Two hours later, Hizashi was meeting with Sarutobi down in the hallways of the holding cells of the interrogation department of Konoha. "What did you wish to speak to me about Hokage-sama?"

"Remember how I said your clan was not to do anything to the girl from Oto that has a byakugan?" Sarutobi asked, and Hizashi slowly nodded. "Can you explain why one Hyuuga did anyway?"

Hizashi was silent in thought for a moment. "It's hard to say, Hokage-sama. I told my clan that our hands were tied on the issue and even clan law cannot usurp village and international law. But I suppose the ninja mentality of 'the ends justifies the means' is hard to ignore, so I guess that maybe some of my clansmen hoped they could capture her without getting caught."

"One did get caught."

Hizashi's eyes widened. "Are they still alive?"

Sarutobi nodded. "Yes, he is still alive and unharmed. I wouldn't make him do any work for a week though. His body seems to be out of order, moving in all the wrong ways. I'm told it will go away in time or with acupuncture treatments. But even so, I'm afraid I have to make an example of him."

Hizashi slowly nodded again. "I see, and what is it you wish done?"

"Just keep him in your estate away from public view until after the exams are over." Sarutobi answered.

This certainly surprised the Hyuuga head. "Beg pardon?"

"Oh I never intended to actually punish any Hyuuga for trying to take that girl. If anything I was kind of expecting it, and if they had succeeded that would have proven useful to us. But since he didn't succeed, I have to play the part of soothing hokage to keep our guests from causing trouble down the road. All we have to do is get the ninja from Oto and Suna to believe that this guy is being harshly punished and they'll forget the whole thing and not make it a big deal to their leaders back home. Thus we avoid international conflict and we don't have to lose anyone."

Comprehension dawned on Hizashi. "So when you said you had something in mind for my clan if they acted out, this was your intention? To only give them a form of house arrest while lying to the others about the severity of his punishment?"

The old man nodded. "Exactly. I just didn't tell you because I worried that if the Hyuuga knew I would react this way then that would encourage them to act out as he did. I am a peace-loving man Hizashi and I'd rather avoid seeing our village have to fight another over one clan's pride."

"I understand Hokage-sama, but with all due respect, the Hyuuga are _not_ going to ignore this and let this girl live her life away from Konoha. I've heard some Hyuuga wish to declare war on the village she comes from simply to eradicate her family, and some also wish to gain an alliance with her village in hopes they can demand an exchange afterwards."

"I expected as much. In all honesty I wanted to mention something similar later on when the finals began." Sarutobi said. "The leader of this village will have to come here to observe his own genin fight, and there I will have a chance to speak with him. I believe I can be diplomatic enough to persuade him to reach an agreement with us."

Hizashi smiled. "Sounds perfect. I'll tell my entire clan to hold off on any actions towards the girl on the promise that you can get us results that day. But, and I don't wish to sound demanding when I say this Hokage-sama, they will expect results and they will expect them right away."

"I will see what I can do. Just make sure to remind them Hizashi of what happens when you make demands of the wrong person." Sarutobi stated, his eyes lightly narrowing. "I'm doing this for the good of the village and to secure our continued peace. Everything I've done in my time in office has been to ensure we don't fight in unnecessary wars. One clan's pride, even that of my own, is not as important to me as Konoha's well being. Be wise enough to remember that."

"Yes Hokage-sama."

"Good. That is all. I'll have a medic team transport the captive to your estate at night to avoid being seen by our visitors. Just keep him indoors for the rest of the month and tell no one what his true punishment is. Good day."

"Thank you Hokage-sama." Hizashi said with a bow then left.

Sarutobi then slowly walked back to go grab a bite to eat before returning to his office. 'All I ever wanted was peace for this village, even if only temporary and caused by an ugly hidden truth. If Naruto had stayed rather than killed, or disappeared, whichever happened to him, then he would have been molded into being a careless naive go-getter that would gladly follow my orders and protect this village in hopes he would eventually be accepted by the people here. He would have been a great tool, helping to ensure political and economic connections while fighting off those that dare to stand against us, all because the one person he believed cared about him, me, told him to. By keeping Iwa away from us, and spreading propaganda against them in my own ranks, I prevented their military from getting too interested in my own and vice versa, and by taunting the kazekage over his jinchuuriki, I've made it highly likely that his greatest weapon will destroy his own village, giving me one less hassle to worry about.'

Sarutobi now left the building and stepped out into the streets of Konoha. 'This new village throws a wrench into my plans. They are strong but not invincible. They are fiercely protective of each other and apparently Suna is on good terms with them. I can only hope that we can strike a bargain with them and that good will extend to include us. If not, well, I should be able to convince their leader that it's better to have Konoha as an ally than an adversary.'

'The Chuunin Exams should do nicely to get that point across, once I find a way to ensure more of my own genin win their matches that is.' He finished with a smile.


	60. Upgrades

Ch. 60 Upgrades

Anko stood with her genin inside their hotel room. "Okay team, today we're not going to train." She said, surprising them all. "Instead, we're going to do something I hoped wouldn't have to be done for years, but these are desperate times and we must take every advantage available to us here. That's why what we're going to do today... is a tad bit unorthodox."

Naruto flopsweated. "Nee-chan, the last time you said some was 'unorthodox' was when you told me to practice my Ghost Body in..." He suddenly looked afraid and shut up, sweating a bit and looking at his two teammates nervously.

Hinata and Isaribi were immediately concerned. "What are you talking about Naru-kun?"

Anko laughed. "You might as well tell them otouto. I highly doubt they'll be mad at you by now over this."

The continued gazes of the two girls made the disguised jinchuuriki finally speak, albeit softly, almost apologetically. "Back during our first month as a team, Nee-chan ordered me to see how well I could keep up my ghost techniques and remain hidden... by having me hide in the changing room by the pool for five minutes. And yes, she made me go in when it was occupied."

Hinata and Isaribi both blushed enough to make one think more blood was in their faces than their aortas. "So... who did you see?" Hinata asked.

"You two... and Kurenai-neechan's team... and Kurenai-neechan too. But I honestly did not expect that part."

Anko kept laughing, Hinata kept blushing, and Isaribi started to smile. "So that's why when we skinny-dipped you didn't pass out or have a nosebleed. You had already seen us both. Finally Naruto-kun did something perverted on his own!"

"What? No I didn't! Didn't you hear me? Nee-chan ordered me to do that!" Naruto defended.

Anko paused but still looked like she wanted to laugh. "And you took me seriously? C'mon otouto, I already know how good you are at the ghost techniques. Why would I need to test that? And did I ever ask you how you did when it was over?" The incredibly shocked look of realization on the young man's face just made her laugh even harder. Isaribi couldn't help but join in, and even Hinata giggled a bit.

Anko eventually stopped laughing and wiped a tear from her eye. "Oh I needed that. Anyway, as I was saying, I'm planning something that technically I shouldn't be doing at all and I may even get in trouble for this. But like I said a moment ago we are in desperate times, and desperate times call for desperate measures."

The three genin looked a mixture of curiosity and apprehension, Naruto leaning more towards apprehension since Anko said she might get punished for whatever she was implying. Anyway, the purple-haired jounin continued. "We are not going outside to train, because what I've got in mind is intended to be done away from prying eyes as much as possible. I've already got chakra suppressing seals posted around our room as you can see, and taking Hitomi-san's advice I've increased our anti-byakugan measures." They didn't have many up before since such securities would hinder Hinata's ability to scope out threats.

"Our allies from Suna are with the hokage right now discussing late night's event. I'm sure the old man is giving them some cock-and-bull story about how it was an isolated incident and will never happen again. My ass it won't! If the Hyuugas don't try something, someone else will. That is why I'm going to give you Hinata and Isaribi something today to make it much easier to fight back on your own if you have to. Naruto can't receive this aide though."

"What is it?" Both girls asked.

Anko smiled, and the closet door behind the girls opened. Two large snakes slithered out, carrying two large wooden barrels with over a dozen seals on them. "Even if Otokage-sama wanted to save this for when you two were jounin, I went ahead and had my snakes bring me the equipment here. Today... we are going to upgrade your marks."

"What?" All three genin asked, the two girls out of surprise and the one boy out of horror. Naruto was worried because he remembered Anko, Kurenai, Kabuto, and Yamato all but died to get that done to themselves. He hoped his teammates would never need to do the same thing.

"Like I said, it's unorthodox. We normally only give the mark to jounin enetering the Altos and even then only advance the mark further for those on dangerous or high-priority assignments like the five guards, so naturally me doing this for two genin is lunacy. But then again, so is two genin having the mark in the first place years before they even started the academy. I think by now your systems are used enough to the mark and its chakra to safely handle the increase in power and cellular degeneration and regeneration."

"You really think the situation is bad enough we need to do this now?" Hinata asked.

"Are you saying you think it's a wasted effort?" Anko asked back. "You've been abducted twice now Hinata. Twice. Ever hear the phrase 'Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me'? Sure, you were only three the first time, but you can't expect someone to always come to your rescue. As gallant as Naruto is, he can't be your samurai in shining armor every time you're in a crisis. What I'm offering you is a way to defend yourself in the event this happens again. Same for you Isaribi. You're just as likely to be targetted for association if nothing else."

At seeing all three of her students slowly nod, she continued. "I did not plan for this to happen. I honestly hoped you two would not need this for another few years. But last night showed me we should not delay this just because it's uncomfortable for you two. Yes, it is uncomfortable and Naruto here is probably going to be a complete wreck the entire time you experience the process. But I'd rather have this done now and see you two able to fight back at your best. That doesn't mean I expect to actually see you use it while we're here."

"Then why acquire it in the first place?" Naruto asked.

Anko smirked. "Because of a little thing I like to call 'The Condom Principle'." She resisted laughing even though the looks on their faces made her really want to. "Having this power while we're here is much like having a condom in your wallet. Or if you're too prudish for that, an umbrellla on a cloudy day. Overall, it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. See what I'm saying?"

Isaribi was the first to nod. "Yes, exactly. You make a good point Anko-sensei. From now on, I'm going to be carrying a condom on me at all times." She finished with a coy look towards Naruto, making him and Hinata blush.

Anko silently groaned. "Not exactly the message I was trying to get across, but a good idea nonetheless."

Isaribi then chuckled. "I'm kidding. I know what you meant and if you really think it's a good idea, I'm willing to try it out."

Hinata sighed. "Me too. I've had enough abductions in my lifetime."

Naruto opened his mouth to say something, but Anko held out her hand, palm facing him forcefully. "Otouto, relax, they know what they are getting into and as ninja they must take risks too. And you're not going to just stand by while they endure this, you're going to be on guard duty to ensure nothing happens to them directly. You'll trade shifts with me so you won't go crazy staying inside all day, but this has to be done."

Naruto relented. "So what should I do? Just sit here and keep an eye out for troublemakers?"

"Yes. But feel free to keep yourself occupied in the process. Read a book, play some cards, watch some tv, do something as long as it doesn't require your total attention."

"And what will you be doing?" He asked his foster sister.

He didn't like her smirk. "That's for me to know and you not to find out."

A half-hour later all the security measures were up and reinforced. "There. Now there's not a snowball's chance in hell of someone outside this room being able to sense to brewing chakra from the marks from outside this room. Also, no one with a byakugan can look in or out, and with the barrier seals, no one weaker than a sannin should be capable of entering here anyway but the door." Anko said, admiring her team's handiwork.

The snake summoner then looked directly at her students. "Otouto, no one is to enter this room except me for the rest of the day. Not even one of our allies is to come in here. Whenever I go out and come back, ask me for a code and if I respond with anything except the code, assume it's a disguise and go all out. I'll do the same for you if you go out and return but fail to alert me properly. One of us must always be here at a time."

Naruto nodded. "What's the code?"

"When you return to this room, respond with 'The Sound works best in silence'. I'll do the same when I go out." Anko told him, and he nodded. "Good. Now let's get ready to get this done. The process takes about 24 hours you know."

Hinata and Isaribi got up and removed the lids from the barrels. Neither looked particularly eager to do this, but weren't going to argue the importance of it. They knew Anko was only doing this out of concern for her safety and if she knew any other way to guarantee their safety here then she wouldn't be doing this. The process of upgrading the mark was not a pleasant experience, but thankfully toned down due to the contributions of Tsunade and Jiraiya making it less hazardous.

"As you know, the barrel is necessary to hide yourselves and shield your chakra from sensors. The change and increase in your chakra will be enough that any experienced sensor could notice it without even trying and even weak sensors could get a fix on it if they focused enough. The barrels are covered on both the inside and outside with seals to ensure there's virtually no chance of anyone here detecting anything unless they know what to look for, and extra seals around the room double that security to be completely safe." Anko explained.

The two snakes she had summoned before each gave her a small blue cloth bag then disappeared. Anko opened them and held out a dark red pill in each hand. "These sedatives are the safest key to unlocking the next level. According to Ojii-san and Tsunade-sama, the next level is brought by either a very close encounter with death or the presence of a powerful sedative that almost kills the body. This sedative here is designed to slow down your heart rate enough that for a time you count clinically dead. That will be enough to start the metamorphosis in the mark and its supplied chakra."

Hinata and Isaribi each took one pill but didn't ingest it just yet. "If you need a drink or to relieve yourselves now's the best time. Once the process starts, interrupting it _will_ kill you. Seals in the barrels are timed to give extra oxygen at specific intervals so you won't have to worry about suffocating in there. I know overall the process sounds disturbing, but when it works, the worst thing you've got is some cramps in your muscles and a large appetite. Are you two ready?"

Both girls nodded. Naruto gave them both a kiss, this being Isaribi's kiss, and then both girls swallowed their pills. After that, they both crouched down and curled up inside the barrel while Naruto and Anko sealed them from the outside. Once they could no longer see anything, Hinata and Isaribi started feeling sleepy.

When they finished, Naruto sighed and collapsed on one of the beds. Anko sat down next to him and sat him up, leaning him against herself. "I bet this hurts, knowing this has to happen but not wanting it to."

The young man nodded. "Yeah."

"But look on the bright side. Now you don't have to worry so much about their safety."

Naruto turned to look directly at his sister figure, but his expression didn't change one bit. "Even if I become a kage level ninja, I don't think I'll ever be strong enough that i won't have to worry about those I care about."

Despite how proud she already was of him, Anko couldn't help but feel even prouder. "Attaboy! But just be sure that you don't end up worrying about them so much that you shelter them. They're ninja too and they know the risks involved. Let them take them when they need to."

Anko then stood up. "But I suppose I should head out now and take care of my business. I'll leave you something to make you feel better otouto." She then summoned Sango. "Enjoy, and don't get into trouble." She said as she left.

Naruto instantly smiled at seeing his orange-and-black snake friend and guardian. "Sango! Am I glad to see you again."

* * *

It took a while for Anko to find a place that was private enough for her to do what she needed. In fact, the only reason she found such a place in the first place was she had help from Subsonic, who provided her the back room at the place they worked within Konoha. The Oto spy did have to have a job in Konoha after all to support themselves.

Once alone, with Subsonic keeping an eye out for any potential interference, the purple-haired jounin summoned a snake. Not her personal snake Kogyoku, but one of the high-ranking snakes that was close to Manda. This particular snake was a large dark green-almost black snake that was big enough to eat a person, maybe a cow. It was the kind of snake horror movie makers would love to have in one of their films.

"How may I assist you?" The snake greeted.

"I have a rather unusual question and I figured only someone close to Manda would know the answer or be able to get it." Anko explained.

"Ask away. I cannot guarantee I'll know the answer though."

"As a snake summoner, I am well aware of the rules for summoning. One of those rules is that we are allowed to have special tattoos that allow us to summon quicker and without the use of our hands, like snakes themselves." Anko herself had a set of tattoos just below her shoulders, allowing her to summon snakes inside her sleeves to surprise the enemy. The blood for the sacrifice was taken internally rather than from a cut. "My question is would it be at all possible for someone with a connection to the snakes or a snake summoner, not a snake summoner themselves though, to be allowed to have a summoning tattoo? Even if it only worked for one snake and one snake only? Or even if they already had a contract with another species?"

The snake looked surprised, which gave it a rather funny expression in Anko's opinion. "That_ is_ a rather unusual question. As far as I know, the concept itself is not allowed. Only someone who actually signed the contract is allowed to summon us and I am not aware of someone being able to summon us and another. I have been told that there have been summoners of multiple contracts before, but to be honest I do not know the circumstances that allowed them to be such. Why do you ask such a thing in the first place?"

"Because I'm in charge of a team and counting myself two of us are snake summoners. The other two however need to summon two other animals to balance us out, but I believe that if we all can summon at least one snake it could help us out greatly. We could communicate with one another across distances with better ease and the other two would have extra attack options. Plus, one of the two is my younger brother who has a snake for a friend and I know he'd appreciate being able to summon her when he wants."

"I see, but as far as I know unless they sign the contract they cannot summon snakes at all. And if they sign the contract, your request is pretty much moot. As would be your initial attempt to balance your team out by having them sign other contracts first. Personally, I say let them have their current summons. Although I suppose I could check with others and see what could be done with your request." The snake told her.

"That's all I ask." Anko responded. "I'll summon you in a weeks time to find out what you uncover by then."

The snake nodded, or maybe bowed, given that snakes don't have torsos it was hard to say for certain. "Very well. Don't quote me on anything though." The snake then returned home.

Anko sighed. "Okay, with that said and done, now I might as well get to work."

* * *

Night came and went, and the next morning, it was time to unseal Hinata and Isaribi. The other teams were left out of this to avoid making a potential spectacle that may draw Konoha's attention.

Naruto kept his eyes on the clock in the room, since it was past the 24 hour mark but only by a few minutes. "How much longer can it take?"

"Twenty-four hours is only the approximate time otouto. It's not an exact timing. Just be patient." Anko told him with her arm across his shoulders.

"I've been patient for a whole day what more do you want from me?"Anko just smiled and pointed at the barrels, confusing Naruto but making him look at them again. From under the lids there now was a small purple mist emitting. "It's time." Naruto started to get up but Anko made him sit back down. "No don't. It's kind of like a chicken hatching from its egg. They gotta get out of the barrel on their own. Try to make it easier for them and you'll only hurt them, maybe even kill them."

The barrels started to slightly wobble, more dark purple mist coming out. Then the wobbling turned to downright rattling, making it look like the two wooden containers were about to fall over. The mist wrapped around the exterior of the barrels and stayed there, as if shielded them. The ratling intensified, and the mist got darker. The seals around the room flared up to block the growing chakra more.

Then the lid on Hinata's barrel burst, and then so did the one on Isaribi's. After that, the wood the barrels were made out of started to crack in random places, until both objects shattered. The dark purple mists condensed themselves in the same area, making it impossible to see the two girls. But slowly, it started to fade and recede, and before even thirty seconds had passed, Hinata and Isaribi were visible again, still crouched down as if still inside the wooden constructs. Not only that, but their skin was covering in their curse markings.

Without opening their eyes, the two girls took in a deep breath and relaxed their bodies, making them fall backwards onto the floor with soft thumps. Naruto got up, with Anko providing no restraint this time, and sat down between them, placing both of their heads on his lap. The curse marks on both girls receded back to the mark itself, and then they opened their eyes.

Naruto smiled in relief and brushed some hair out of their faces. "Hey girls. Feeling okay?" Both girls got up and engulfed him in a hug from both of his sides. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Feel any different?" Anko asked.

Hinata answered first. "I'm not sure how to describe it Anko-sensei. The best way I could is that I feel... more active I guess."

"Yeah. I thought I'd be sore and unable to move after being locked up like that for that amount of time. But right now I feel like I could swim to Kiri and back." Isaribi added.

Anko smiled. "Good. Now we're going to work on seeing your new stamina limits and work on getting your chakra control perfected. And maybe, if we can find somewhere private and secure enough, see what your second stage forms are like."

"I'm game!" Hinata said.

* * *

Days and weeks went by for Konoha. The whole village was getting ready for the upcoming Chuunin Exam Finals, and people from outside the village started their trips to the village too.

Then the big day came, and the final rounds were about to begin any minute. Sarutobi was in the arena greeting the more influential attendees. "Hello Daimyo-sama! Are you looking forward to seeing the strength of your military?"

The Fire Daimyo nodded. "Absolutely. I always find these events to be entertaining. I must admit though I was a little surprised to hear that only a third of the finalists were actually from Konoha though."

"Yes, but rest assured the few we do have as finalists are highly likely to do spectacularly."

"I must admit I am curious about this new village, Otogakure or so I've been told it's called. They seem to have produced a fine crop of shinobi from seemingly out of nowhere. I wonder if they're serious competition for our business." The Fire Daimyo added.

Sarutobi struggled to avoid a frown here. "Have faith in your village Daimyo-sama. We have a proven history of doing the job well and our reputation is much more appealing to customers than the mystery of a small new village. However intriguing that mysery may be, customers always prefer reliability."

"You're right Hokage-sama. I suppose I better go make myself comfortable now. I'll see you when the matches are over." The ruler said with a bow then left to go get seated.

Sarutobi remained where he was and waited for the next big guest to arrive. This turned out to be the Wind Daimyo accompanied by the Yondaime Kazekage. "Hello Daimyo-sama and Kazekage-sama. Glad you could make it here."

"It was a bit of a long trip, but I'm sure the stay here will be worth it." The Wind Daimyo commented.

The kazekage nodded. He was wearing his blue kage hat, but his face was not covered with a veil, something he often wore when dealing with those from outside Suna. "I'm glad to hear that two of my children could make it this far. I have the utmost confidence they will do my village proud."

"Just remember to not let your familial feelings get involved in your judgments Kazekage-sama." Sarutobi politely pointed out. 'I really hope we impress the Wind Daimyo here. Years ago he gave a lot of his assignments to us but they've dwindled over the years. If we do well here we may get that boost in work back.'

"Rest assured Hokage-sama I can be purely professional here." The kazekage replied. 'Although I do look forward to seeing Gaara completely defeat a few of your own forces. You'll pay for almost making me into a monster so I could turn my own son into one too.'

"I'm glad I ran into you Kazekage-sama. Since you are allies with the leader of Oto, could you tell me a bit about the village and what appeals to you about them? I've been curious but the teams here have been avoiding as much contact with me as possible."

Kazekage smiled. "Why don't you ask him yourself? He's right behind us."

Sarutobi looked behind the leader of Suna and saw two people approaching. One of them was a man wearing a white haori and purple hakama with a purple rope wrapped around his torso, and the other was someone Sarutobi immediately recognized.

"Tsu-Tsunade? What brings you here?" The old man asked his old student.

The slug sannin knew it was not going to vbe easy, but she steeled herself enough to avoid looking vengeful at her former teacher. "Hello Sensei. It's been a while."

"Yes, too long in fact. I must admit I'm surprised to see you."

"I'm surprised too, but Otokage-sama convinced me this visit would be well worth it."

Sarutobi arched an eyebrow. "Otokage-sama?"

"She means me." The man next to Tsunade said. Up close Sarutobi could see a young man around the age of twenty with short brown hair and wearing a metal face guard much like the Nidaime Hokage used to wear. "I'm Yamato Tenzou. Otokage is just a title though, since I'm not an official kage. But people in my village like to call the leader that. Much like how Hoshi likes to call their leader Hoshikage."

"Ah, so you're the leader of the new village. I must admit your village shows a great deal of surprises."

"That's a good thing. We keep the opposition guessing." Yamato replied.

"So how do you two know each other?" Sarutobi asked. By now the kazekage and Wind Daimyo had walked off to their own seats.

"Oh, during my travels, I ended up in meeting a few of his ninja who asked me to treat a few of their wounded in exchange for paying a few of my gambling debts. I took the offer and since then I've been welcome in their village. Otokage-sama was nice enough to ask me to come here and see how his shinobi did, and heal them if they get too hurt." Tsunade explained.

'Hmm... technically aiding a non-ally like that could be considered treason, but I'll overlook it as she apparently knows how to find their village and can lead us right to them without difficulty. Once I persuade her of course.' The hokage told himself. "Anyway, welcome to Konoha. Since you're the village leader, that means you'll be sitting in the kage box with me and the kazekage. Tsunade will have to be seated elsewhere to remain closer to the medical wing of the area though since that's where her services have been requested." He was glad to see her nod. "By the way Tsunade, you and I really should catch up. I haven't heard from you in years and would really like a chance to talk with one of my students again."

"If there's time permitting of course Sensei."

Fireworks started going off. "Oh, it's time. We better get to our seats." Sarutobi said. Tsunade went down the hall while Sarutobi led Yamato with him up a flight a stairs. They came to an open viewing box where the kazekage was already seated and two Anbu were stationed as guards. Sarutobi went to the middle seat and Yamato sat down as his left.

The Chuunin Exam Finals were underway.


	61. Finals 1

_Ever wonder who the best Naruto fanfic writer on this site really is? Who fans favor the most? Go to the poll on my profile and vote for a chance to find out who that is. 50 names have been selected, nominated not just by myself of course, for you to choose from. Poll will be open until the end of 2011 or when a significant number of people have voted. Do NOT leave your vote in a review, it will not count._

Ch. 61 Finals 1

While Sarutobi was being kept busy with the visiting leaders, elsewhere in the stadium where there were no prying eyes, more was going on. Something that desperately required privacy.

Naruto, Fuu, and Gaara were standing before three adults, neither of which could be seen under the shadows. All that was visible of them was their silhouettes and their eyes, one set was yellow, another brown, and the last violet. The yellow-eyed one was also taller than the others.

"You certain we have time for this little chat Otokage-sama, Subsonic-san, Kushina-san?" Fuu asked.

"Yes, we do, if we keep it short." Orochimaru's voice could be heard. "I just wanted to let you know that we will be in hiding for now, while Tsunade-chan and Yamato-kun draw the old man's attention. With them right next to him, and you all in the matches, he won't be as likely to focus on anyone else. Jiraiya-kun is also busy with his role right now, and that should provide further cover for us."

"What about the guards?" Gaara asked.

"Leave them to us. Just remember, fight your matches as best you can but don't reveal your secret weapons just yet. Also, don't exert yourselves. You three are vital players in our plan for Konoha so we need you all to have plenty of energy for when we start. If possible, last long enough until Gaara's match. By then the security should relax and we can have everything for our great surprise prepared. Naruto, when the time comes, you come to me since I'm going to need your help as soon as possible. From there you can go join your friends."

"I'm on it Jii-san." Naruto said eagerly. "What will you be doing Okaa-san?"

"Mostly waiting for my time to get a little payback." Kushina's voice replied.

"Remember guys, we'll be watching how you perform." Subsonic added. "I've got faith in you all."

"As do I. Now get back to the arena before you're too late." Orochimaru stated.

The three genin ran off.

"Good luck son." Kushina whispered.

Subsonic looked at the red-haired Uzumaki. "C'mon Kushina, we've got to go." Kushina nodded, and the three disappeared into the shadows.

* * *

In the seats of the stadium, the inhabitants of Konoha and many visiting the village for the event were getting comfortable or finding places to do so.

Naruto, Fuu, and Gaara joined the other contenders in the arena, them being Hinata, Haku, Isaribi, Shino, Kiba, Lee, Shikamaru, Dosu, and Temari. In front of them stood a Konoha jounin with a bandanna for a hitai-ate and a senbon held between his teeth like a toothpick. When the time came, he spoke up, a jutsu amplifying his voice enough for everyone to hear it.

"Hello everyone and welcome to the Chuunin Exam Finals. Here we'll see those nominated for chuunin rank and strong enough to make it this far in the test fight to show their strength and see if they've got what it takes to become authentic chuunin. I'm your host, Genma Shiranui."

Hayate would have been the announcer here, but a few council members feared that a sickly announcer would reflect poorly on Konoha's image and in no time the others couldn't help but agree. Mainly because of the lack of their glorified Uchiha, they feared looking even more feeble to potential clients and enemies. So Hayate was in the stadium seats next to his girlfriend Yuugao.

The genin who weren't participating were seated as well. The Oto genin sat amongst themselves and their senseis with Kankuro and Baki seated between them and the Konoha genin. They weren't seated right next to each other, but the two were on opposite ends with the Suna nin in the middle.

Among the Konoha ninja Sakura sat by herself, none of her old classmates seated by her. They were with their families and teammates, while hers weren't near her. Kiba was with the other contestants, Natsumi had no interest in watching, in her words, 'A bunch of brutes shoving their weight around like they're big shots', and Sasuke simply was no where to be seen.

"The rules of this portion of the test are just like those of the preliminaries." Genma continued. "The matches will be one-on-one, and will continue until one of the contestants is unable to continue, does something illegal, or I declare the match as good as done. Understood?" All contestants nodded. "There is no time limit and you are to treat this match as life-or-death. Do not leave the arena or you will automatically forfeit. Also do not continue the match after it's declared over or else you will be disqualified from further matches. With that said, let's get started. Would everyone except Kiba Inuzuka and Naruto Urashi leave the arena?"

Everyone left, leaving only the two named boys still in the arena. Genma motioned for where they should stand and they complied.

Kiba smirked. "So you're from that music note place? I've encountered a few of your types before. Good luck taking me down in one shot. I'm wearing an athletic cup this time."

Naruto just gave him a deadpan look. "I'm a guy you know, I don't want to hear about what you've got in your underwear."

"Ready?" Genma asked, then waved his arm down. "Begin!"

Kiba got into the Inuzuka stance and charged ahead, hoping to make a quick impact.

Before this match, Naruto had a lot of things to consider on how exactly to do it. He didn't want to win too easily since he was still using this exam for its intended purpose, and he didn't want to compromise his identity by using a bad choice of kekkei genkai here. Using the Neo-Byakugan would alert the Hyuugas even further than they already were, since it was clear the Oto group only had _one_ byakugan-wielder present. Using the Tetsuton would alert Kakashi that he was the kid seen in Wave but disguised thus risking a potential disqualification. Using the Mokuton would alert Konoha as a whole, and using the Hyoton would potentially give away some of Haku's secrets too if someone from Konoha fought her later. In the end, Naruto felt he had three safe choices to make in this match against Kiba, but would hold on them all for now.

Naruto got into the defensive stance of toad style taijutsu, preferring not to use a kekkei genkai right away. He did however create a bunch of shadow clones to form a blockade. Kiba had to slow down to tear them apart with his claws and Akamaru had to bite them wherever he could. Both received a good number of punches from the clones though before they were destroyed.

'So far I'm not seeing anything different. He must be testing me like I'm testing him.' Naruto thought. 'But I better stop before he does and get to work.' The real Naruto then managed to get a lucky hit on Kiba's jaw when the Inuzuka left himself open in his attacks. Kiba felt it and it briefly stunned him for a second, but it didn't stop him.

A clone came in and caught Kiba's attention before he could target the real Naruto and attack back. The real Naruto got some distance and activated his Ghost Body kekkei genkai. If his hair wasn't already dyed brown it would have turned white. After training with all nine of his kekkei genkai since he acquired them, he had complete control over his switches from solid to ethereal when using this bloodline. He was solid when he wanted to make a hit and unsolid when he wanted to avoid one.

"Ghost Art: Phantom Claws of Decay." Naruto said after four hand signs, making pale grey almost white chakra form around his hands in the shape of claws that reached out and slashed Kiba and Akamaru both. A few clones were hit too, destroying them. Then the chakra claws faded away.

'So you're using Ghost Body Naruto?' Tsunade thought as she watched. 'Pretty clever. Inuzukas are heavy hitters, but that's meaningless if they just pass right thru you.'

'What was that? It was like ice itself passed thru me.' Kiba thought, having felt a strong chill during the attack. He briefly glanced himself and Akamaru over but saw no wounds of any kind, not even a tear on his clothes.

Naruto caught him off guard by continuing the fight right away and closing the gap quickly, using only taijutsu. Kiba had to fight defensively but when he attacked Naruto blocked each time. 'He's good at quickly switching between offense and defense, or maybe this style of taijutsu is for covering both purposes in each move. Either way, I better hit him with my own.' Kiba told himself before backing away and getting on all fours. "Try this on for size. Beast Mimicry."

Nothing happened. Kiba didn't even feel his chakra respond. "What the? Beast Mimicry!" Still nothing. "BEAST MIMICRY DAMMIT!"

"Something's wrong." Tsume muttered to herself as she watched her son struggle.

Naruto just smirked. "You can't do it. That attack takes away your ability to combine your physical energy and spiritual energy to make chakra. So until it wears off, you can't perform even the most minor of jutsu."

Thanks to a sound amplifying jutsu over the arena, everyone in the stadium was able to cheer what the contestants said to each other. After hearing what Naruto said, Sarutobi thought that information over. 'So that means this boy is not the one who took away the sharingan, since both Kakashi and Sasuke have proven capable of performing other jutsu. Or maybe that requires a different technique than that one just shown. I wonder if we will find out just who really is a threat to our kekkei genkai.'

Kiba wasn't too worried. He may not have been able to go any jutsu for an indeterminate amount of time, but that didn't mean he was powerless. He ran forward towards his foe, moving slower than he expected, and tried to hit him, but Naruto dodged by slowly stepping to the side, like he was mocking the Inuzuka.

"What's the matter? Getting slow?" Naruto taunted, angering Kiba into continuing the assault. Akamaru tried to help, but he was slower than expected to and Naruto kept dodging them all. Then to make things interesting, Naruto punched Kiba and sent him flying, leaving a trail in the dirt.

Naruto just grinned to himself. 'Poor guy, probably doesn't have a clue what's going on. Phantom Claws of Decay doesn't just temporarily remove your ability to use jutsu, it removes your ability to use chakra in any way. Most ninja take for granted how much chakra they use to subconsciously increase their speed, attack damage, and endurance. You never see civilians jump thru tree branches or hit like they have hammers for fists, that's all chakra subconsciously channeled to the limbs and skin to improve one's abilities. Even a ninja that uses no jutsu anyway uses their chakra this way. My technique takes that ability away, rendering the victim no different than a civilian for a short time, all the time I'd need if this truly were a matter of life or death.' Naruto then pulled out a pair of trench knives, became invisible, and went on the offensive.

Kiba's eyes widened. "What? Where'd he...?" He stopped when he saw a moving set of footprints in the soft dirt head his way. 'Good, I won't be able to lose him that easily.' He grabbed a kunai and threw it right where the footprints showed his opponent was standing, but the throwing knife passed right thru. 'Did I miss?' Kiba asked himself, looking down to see the footprints had stopped in place but there was nothing to indicate a success hit or dodge. 'It's like the kunai just went right thru him.'

Up in the kage box, Sarutobi watched with much interest. 'A shinobi that can turn invisble, not a bad trick. I knew it was a good idea to cover the arena gorund with loose soil to make it easier for our genin to track the sneakier foes. And if things worked out as I planned, one of the Anbu who greeted the genin into the stadium should have been able to stealthfully get a small barely noticeable scent on this Oto genin so the Inuzuka boy could still track him down. I just hope it was enough.'

'That may have just been a lucky shot.' Naruto told himself after Kiba's weapon harmlessly passed thru his ghostlike body. 'It's not impossible to track me when I'm using Ghost Body, so maybe he can still smell me.' His thoughts appeared more accurate when Kiba came forward and tried to punch him, his fist going right thru Naruto's immaterial body.

"Huh? Your scent is right here but it feels like you aren't. Clever trick, but I will find you." Kiba said, looking around the arena for any kind of sneak attack.

Naruto smiled. 'Perfect. Now he's doubting his nose. I'll try a jutsu close up then. And I think I know just the one.' He made one handsign and touched Kiba's face. "Illusion Art Rotten Taste."

This was a genjutsu he learned from Kurenai. Genjutsus were designed to target the senses to deceive the victim into experiencing something that was real only to them but imaginary to everyone else. Generally only the eyes and ears were targetted to make someone see of hear something specific, with smell and touch sometimes used to make the illusion feel more real to them. But this genjutsu was one of a kind, because it targetted the sense of taste, something virtually no one, not even another genjutsu user, expected to be targetted.

What it did was trick the victim into experiencing a foul, horrible taste that varied from person to person, but was always incredibly unpleasant. It also came with two unintentional but not unwelcome side effects. One being since taste and scent were so closely connected, that the victim also to a lighter degree smelt something as horrible as the taste, and the other being that this genjutsu triggered the gag reflex and made the victim want to vomit, further hindering their ability to fight back.

Kiba felt something cold touch his face and then the genjutsu took effect. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He screamed, backing away and trying to spit out the offending taste, which he couldn't. He was too disgusted to even speak, but he tried to keep his guard up and keep his lunch down.

'That should be enough.' Naruto thought as he became visible again and deactivated his kekkei genkai before resorting to good old fashioned taijutsu at this point.

'What is this boy?' Most of the Hyuuga in attendence thought, many with their byakugans active. 'At times he appears normal but other times he's nothing but a chakra blur to our eyes. Such a thing should be impossible, and yet it's happening.'

Hinata, her own byakugan active while she watched from the future contestant area, saw their confusion and smirked. 'Ha! Confused you self-righteous bastards? You should be. The Ghost Body always plays tricks on doujutsus, such as being blurry to the byakugan or incomprehensible to the sharingan. When he's ethereal or even invisible he's just an unfocused glow to our eyes. Too bad you'll never figure out why.' Her attention returned to the fight.

Kiba managed to defend himself but took a few minor cuts. Akamaru tried biting Naruto's shins but he wore metal guards under his pant legs. Kiba managed to get a few minor cuts on Naruto as well. "Damn, you're a tougher guy than I thought." Kiba said, somewhat complimenting the disguised jinchuuriki. By now the awful taste in his mouth had weakened, but was still there.

"You too. Most people would give up after I render them chakra-less." Naruto replied.

"We Inuzukas don't know the meaning of 'give up'."

"Would you like a dictionary? I'm sure it's in there somewhere."

"Oh very funny." Kiba said, trying not to get offended and lose his cool.

'I better do something else soon. This may be my only match in this exam to prove my worth as a chuunin, unless we're graded on the part after too. Either way...' Naruto told himself, wondering what he could do here.

Kiba quickly pulled out a small bag and took out two soldier pills, ingesting one himself and giving one to Akamaru as well. Right away they both felt a surge of chakra return to them. "Ha! Looks like all I have to do to stop what you did to me is take a pill. You can't defeat me now."

Naruto just got back into his toad style stance. "Who says that's my only trick? And how long will the pill last?"

Kiba and Akamaru, now with red fur, rushed forward. "Beast Mimicry." Kiba declared, this time capable of performing the jutsu.

"Fire Style Fireball Jutsu." Naruto said before exhaling a gigantic ball of flame at the dog ninja.

"What the hell?" Kiba shouted before trying to jump over it. Unfortunately, that was when the chakra he gained from the pill wore off and he was back to being unable to use his own chakra. Which meant he couldn't move quick enough to dodge it and took the hit.

Up in the stands, Kiba's family held their breath in worry for him.

The flames died and Kiba was seen laying on the ground covered in burns. He made little effort to get up, and Akamaru was afraid to touch him and make the burns hurt more.

Naruto looked at Genma. "What's your call Ref? Should I keep going or should I show mercy?"

Genma looked over the Inuzuka and decided to spare him further harm. "Kiba Inuzuka is unable to continue. Winner, Naruto Urashi."

Those from Oto and Suna cheered for the victor, and some from Konoha even offered up applause to be polite. Naruto walked back towards his friends, waving to the crowd as he did so while medics took Kiba away.

Up in the stands, Tsume looked over at her husband. "Please go see him dear. It'll make him feel better to see one of us there while he's recovering." She herself couldn't go because as council member it was her duty to observe the matches and offer her sugestions regarding promotions. Her husband nodded and got up.

* * *

Tsunade looked to Yamato. "What do you say about that Otokage-sama? I must say I'm impressed that your genin offered mercy to his foe and allowed the authority figure to make the final call rather than decide on his own when enough was enough."

"I agree. I'm more impressed that he chose to fight an Inuzuka with taijutsu the most, considering that clan's reputation, and managed to stay even with him."

Sarutobi looked over. "What exactly is this Ghost Art method he displayed? I've never heard of any such thing."

"Just a rare release of chakra native to our country that directly attacks the chakra network. It's called Ghost Art because the appearance and feel of such jutsus resemble spiritual powers but feel less benign." Yamato told him. 'I don't want to reveal much, but by answering harmless questions once in a while I'll keep his suspicions down.'

The kazekage leaned towards Sarutobi. "Hokage-sama, I admire the tenacity of your genin, but I personally wouldn't nominate him for chuunin."

"I have a feeling he won't be nominated either way." The old man replied. "Tenacity is a good trait for a ninja, but he barely got a chance to show much else. As for the other one, I saw a handy ability to weaken your opponent and a good defense. Not to mention a technique that's best known for being an Uchiha technique."

Tsunade scoffed. "The Uchiha don't own the patent on fire jutsu Sensei. And before you ask, no I did not teach him that. You know I'm not a fire type."

"Even so, judging from what I've just seen, the boy's a good genin, but I wouldn't recommend him for chuunin just yet."

"Maybe, but he'll have more chances to prove it later." Yamato said confidently.

* * *

When he was back with the other waiting contestants, Naruto was immediately greeted by Hinata and Fuu. "Hey girls, how did I do?"

"You did great. Never any doubt in my mind." Fuu answered.

"Hey, Naru-kun, I noticed something unusual while you were fighting." Hinata started.

"Like what?"

"Well, even in your ghostly state, you left footprints behind. I still can't tell why? But it bothered me. I thought you couldn't leave footprints when you use that ability." She told him.

Naruto looked confused. "I did? That can't be"

"Somehow it happened. I didn't see any earth jutsu at work to make it happen. Maybe the ground is made from a soil that's hyper-sensitive to chakra so it still reacted to your presence."

"So is that how Konoha's going to rig the tests here?" Fuu asked. "Since they can't set up the matches the way they want they try to give themselves a home-field advantage?"

"Next contestants, Fuu Takino and Shikamaru Nara, please come down here." Genma called out, interrupting the three Oto genin.

"Good luck Fuu-chan." Naruto told her.

Fuu winked as a sign of gratitude then appeared in the arena right away, quite eager to have her own match. Shikamaru on the other hand looked like he practically hand to be dragged down to the arean by his ear. But he did come down and stood where he was told to, facing towards his green-haired kunoichi adversary.

'What a drag, I gotta fight a girl. It's so troublesome. If I win, more girls will think I'm a bully, but if I lose, the guys will think I'm a wimp. It's a lose-lose situation for me here.' He then mentally and physically sighed. 'Oh well, guess it can't be helped.'

"I hope she does okay out there." Naruto commented as he leaned against a rail to watch. "If the ground is as you said, that's going to affect her."

Hinata leaned against her fiancee. "She'll be fine. She is one of the three strongest of us here after all."

"Ready?" Genma asked, getting a nod from Fuu and a shrug from Shikamaru. "Begin!"

Fuu smiled and made two hand signs. "Earth Style Crevice Obstacle Jutsu." She then thrust her fist onto the ground and a shockwave could be felt. Then a large crack appeared between her and Shikamaru that split the entire arena area in half. But the gap was only half a meter wide.

'What was that for?' Shikamaru asked himself. 'It's easy to jump over and would barely hinder my shadow at all. She's got to have something up her sleeve.' He then just stood there, looking a bit impatient.

"Why's he just standing there? Isn't he taking this seriously?" Ino asked from the stands.

"I'm sure he is. He's just trying to not to waste chakra by attacking her before he knows what she's going to do about it." Chouji commented in between a few chips.

'Subsonic says these Nara guys generally don't make a move until I actually try to hit them. Which means I have plenty of time to build up my defense to his traps.' Fuu told herself. 'I just gotta be careful about what else Konoha may have done to the field to work against me.'

With that in mind, the green-haired jinchuuriki pulled out a massive amount of ninja wire with kunais mixed in and threw it in front of her. "Ninja art Wire Barrier." She channeled some chakra into it and the mass of wire took shape, forming a sort of meter-high wire fence that used kunais to anchor to the ground on her side of the trench and stretched from one side of the arena to the other.

This confused almost everyone watching, especially Shikamaru. "What is she doing? Creating a small chasm and a fence? Is she purely a defensive specialist? Or is she a trap expert? There's only one way to find out for certain.' Shikamaru knelt down and formed the rat sign. "Shadow Possession Jutsu." His shadow extended forward towards her. 'It should have no problem getting past her fence, and her little crevice actually gives my shadow more length given how the sun's angled to ensure there should be some shade in it regardless of the depth.'

Shikamaru's shadow approached the crevice and went down. Fuu smirked and it unnerved him but he had to see where this went. His shadow took longer to get up and out of the trench than he expected, and the instant Fuu saw it peek over the edge she vanished right before his eyes. A small dust trail formed from out of nowhere and headed under the fence and over the ledge before disappearing. Another small dust cloud picked up on his side for a moment before Fuu reappeared, arms crossed confidently.

"Like that?" She asked.

'What the hell? She waited until my shadow was on her side so she could cross over here to avoid being caught. She must know I have to retract my shadow to catch her here, and by the time I can do that she could just get back on here side and I'd have to do this all over again. And that fence must be in place to keep me from easily getting over there directly to fight her. I can't believe it; she created a trap specifically designed to work against my clan techniques.'

"So what now Pineapple Head? Shall we continue this until you run out of chakra, or should we duke it out the hard way?" She asked him.

Shikamaru cancelled his jutsu and stayed right where he was as he was, defensively. His mind was racing a mile a minute in hopes of creating a good enough strategy here. Had he felt comfortable enough, he would have done his unique hand sign, but here he didn't have that luxury. 'Okay, she's good at traps and evasiveness, but she has yet to actually attack me. It's too unlikely she can't attack, so she _won't_ attack, not yet anyway. She's waiting for something or saving her strength. I better go on the defensive and hope I can coax an attack out of her to see what she can do in that department. I have a suspicion that whatever she has in that red pack she's carrying has something to do with that.'

Shikamaru then formed the rat sign again. "Shadow Possession Jutsu." His shadow snaked out to ensnare her again.

Fuu saw it and laughed. "A regular one trick pony all right." She disappeared, i.e. became too small for him to see too fast for him to truly notice how she did it, and ran back to her original side of the field. Once there she returned to normal size and looked back at the shadow wielder. "I can do this all day you know. But can you?"

Fuu then noticed the space between them and saw something unexpected. Shimakaru had forked his shadow, where on his side of the crevice there were two shadow ends sticking out on either side and more of his shadow going into the crevice, but not yet coming out. 'He can divide his shadow? I thought he couldn't do that yet? Clever.'

'Whether she stays or goes from where she is, I can still capture her.' Shikamaru told himself, struggling to maintain his jutsu. Fortunately the extra shade from the trench and a tree behind him gave him the length he needed to do this. Now that hard part was keeping it up. 'Why is it taking so long for the shadow to reach here? Is the crevice deeper than it looks?'

Fuu pulled out a kunia with an explosive tag on it and threw it towards Shikamaru. It landed in the ground right by Shikamaru's left foot. The Nara had to jump to his right to avoid the blast and struggled to keep his jutsu still going, which he did. When he landed outside the blast zone, his shadow had to move with him and making that happen drained a lot of chakra out of him.

Fuu looked at him confidently with her left hand on her hip. "I know all about your clan techniques Nara-san. You're the family of famous shadow wielders. And I can see how your shadow works. You can send it right at your opponent, combine it with the shadow of your target and with that have control over their bodies, but your shadow has to travel to me to get that done and so far it looks like it can only move two-dimensionally."

Fuu then threw another tagged kunai at him to make him jump again before she continued. "because of that, your shadow has to travel the entire surface wall of the crevice I created before it can reach me. But I took that into consideration. You probably expect the trench to look like this." Using her right index finger, Fuu drew a 'V' in the air. "But I actually shaped it to look like this." She then drew an upside down 'T'. "So basically your shadow has a long distance to cover underground."

"Maybe it does, but all that extra shade gives me more length to use and less chakra to do it with." Shikamaru said as his shadow finally peeked over and rushed at Fuu quickly.

Fuu performed three hand signs abnd toouched the ground. "Ninja Art Wire Barrier Tight Enclosure." Right away the monowire and kunai fence she created sprang out of the ground and fired at Shikamaru like a net. It was too wide for him to dodge so he became ensnare and wrapped up tightly, but still had his hands together to keep his jutsu up. At the same time this happened, Fuu became trapped by his shadow and forced to mimic his actions.

"Shadow Possession Jutsu Success." Shikamaru said, wincing as both were forced to lay down on the ground. 'Troublesome, now it's a matter of who can get out of the other's trap first.'

Fuu felt some chakra begin to build up inside her. 'Not yet Shichibi, please stay down just a bit longer. I appreciate the thought, but it shouldn't be necessary.' The chakra then died down.

Everyone watched with much anticipation. Chouji was eating chips faster than Shikamaru was strategizing, practically inhaling them. It was a good thing Ino was right next to him and knew the heimlich maneuver, in case he actually choked. Haku and Sasame were a bit more relaxed regarding their teammate, sesnsing that she would still get out of this one just fine. Naruto and Gaara watched in hopes their fellow jinchuuriki could get out of this without revealing anything too soon.

After going over everything he could, Shikamaru faced Genma, making Fuu do the same. "I give up." He announced.

"You sure?" Genma asked. Standard procedure demanded he doublecheck.

"Yeah. No matter what I do from this point I can't win. I can't keep her trapped forever and she's not even using any chakra to keep me trapped here. And if I try to get out of this, I'd have to free her first and if this were a real life or death situation, she'd easily be able to kill me before I could get out. There's nothing I can do except cut my loses here."

Genma nodded. "Winner by forfeit, Fuu Takino."

Shikamaru then released his hol on her. Fuu came over and took off the wires and kunais binding him before offering him a hand to get up, which he accepted. "Not bad. You could have done better, but at least you did catch me. Very few people have ever done that." Fuu told him.

"I get the feeling you let me catch you so you could end this sooner." The Nara replied.

The green-haired jinchuuriki's eyes hardened. "Trust me boy, I never _let_ myself get caught."

* * *

"That was interesting." The kazekage said. "It was like a test of trappers rather than ninja."

"That girl is one of the best in my village who specialize in defensive and steathly techniques." Yamato replied. 'She has to be, after growing up in Taki for years where the only times people _did_ pay attention to her was to try and squash her like the bug they think she is.' "She's great at being hidden when she wants, and even better at traps."

"Not much of a direct fighter though is she?" Sarutobi asked.

"She can be. But she's just better at being defensive." Yamato explained.

"She was clever, well informed about her objective, prepared for her job, and didn't show off or waste energy. If you ask me I would definently recommend her for chuunin." Tsunade told Yamato.

He nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

Tsunade then looked at her old sensei, struggling to keep her anger still hidden from him. "When it comes to the Nara Sensei, I'm unsure what to say. He did make the best of a bad situation and still trap his opponent, so if he had a partner they could have moved in and finished her off, and he was smart enough to know when to proceed and when to back off, but his personal skills on the field seem a bit limited. It's a tough call."

"He does have a good head on his shoulders. That's always a nice trait in a chuunin."

"Indeed, but if I recall correctly, most villages agree that a good head isn't enough." Kazekage added. "Personally, I would deny him a promotion, but that's just me."

Genma spoke up after some Anbu repaired the damage to the arena landscape. "Next match, Temari Sabaku versus Haku Momochi."


	62. Finals 2

_To those of you upset that my poll mentioned last chapter may have not include your favorite author's name in it, here's what I'll do. For this chapter only, I'll allow each person to leave one AND ONLY ONE write-in vote for someone not currently in the poll. I would prefer it if you left a review too, and write-in votes will only count if left for this chapter. If a person leaves more than one name as a write-in for whatever reason they have, only the first name written will count._

_On a similar note, writer Zentary has also created a poll much like my own if you wish to vote for more writers._

Ch. 62 Finals 2

Down in the arena, Temari and Haku stood facing each other, both looking like they could take on the world and still have enough energy to take their man to their bedroom.

"Ready?" Genma asked.

"Just remember our little wager Momochi-san." Temari stated.

Haku smirked. "Oh I remember it, because I'm the one who's going to win it Sabaku-san."

"Uh, what are they talking about?" Naruto asked no one in particular.

"Oh, Haku-chan told me she and Temari-san made a bet for their match." Fuu told him. "The winner here gets to have you first between the two of them when it's their turn."

Hinata whistled, impressed. "This should be interesting then."

* * *

"Otokage-san, I'm quite curious. Could you tell me why one of your ninja bears the same name as a missing nin listed in the bingo book?" Sarutobi asked Yamato.

"The ancestry of my shinobi is not public knowledge Hokage-sama." Yamato replied diplomatically. "But rest assured she is no relation to the man you're thinking off."

'Not by blood at least.' Tsunade thought snidely. 'But that missing nin is more family to her than her own biological father had been.'

"Perhaps it's just coincidence." The kazekage stated. "Strangers can have identical names you know."

"I suppose so." Sarutobi said, still not convinced but knowing he couldn't push the issue. "What say you regarding your daughter, Kazekage-sama?"

The kazekage smiled. "I have faith. I trained her well."

* * *

"Begin!" Genma called out, officially starting the match.

'As long as there's distance between us she's got the advantage.' Haku told herself, pulling out a few senbon but not throwing them yet. 'If I can get close enough then she loses that, but not so close she can hit me with her fan directly.'

Temari held her fan out like a bat, keeping it closed for the time being. 'She's fast and deadly accurate, but as long as I make sure she can't get closer I'll have plenty of room to keep her from hitting me.'

The two girls stood facing each other without any further movement, both waiting for any sign to attack.

"Come on! Do something already!" A kid in the stands shouted, expecting more action than this.

The professional ninja knew exactly what was going on though. Both girls were diligently standing each other down. It was a use of psychological warfare combined with a display of stamina and endurance. The first one to make a bad move showed they were weaker than the other and thus more vulnerable and likely to run out of energy sooner. But if one attacked too soon, that showed they were reckless and impatient, which would make it easily to deceive them or exhaust them. Overall, it was practically a test all in its own to see what would happen.

Haku suddenly smiled at Temari, confusing the Suna kunoichi. 'What's she got planned?' Temari looked extra carefully at her, and noticed her left hand was moving. 'One-handed hand signs? No way!'

"Ice Style Blizzard Mist Jutsu." Haku aid before exhaling a cloud of cold fog that covered the entire arena area.

Temari felt the fog and her skin went numb from the chill rather quickly. 'Nice try, but not nice enough.' She opened her fan to the first moon and swung it around to get rid of the mist. It was gone but Haku didn't look like she minded or even had been affected by the wind from Temari, which made Temari uncomfortable. 'Damn. I'm not sure what she's planning, but I can't let her get an attack in.'

"Try this! Wind Style Great Breakthrough Jutsu!" Temari said as she swung her fan, now open to the second moon, sending a devastating amount of wind scythes grouped together to create maximum damage.

"Ice Style Protective Dome Jutsu." Haku said as a curved wall of ice that looked much like the side of an igloo formed in front of her to take the hit and shield her from it. It took many gashes but remained upheld.

'Where'd that ice come from? From what I know of her skills, she needs water to make ice but there's none here.' Temari asked herself. She felt her skin go very numb and looked to see frost forming all over it and her clothes in random locations. 'Oh no. The moisture from the mist clung to my skin and is freezing. If she does this enough, I could get frostbite or hypothermia.'

From behind the ice wall it appeared even more mist was being made and would reach Temari soon. But there was no way the blonde kunoichi was going to let that happen.

'At least I can't run out of wind, but she's gotta have a limit to how much ice she can manipulate.' "Wind Style Hammering Tornado Jutsu!" Temari swung her fan and a tornado formed from it. It headed up and above her before directing itself towards Haku's side of the field. The force of the impact made everyone fell a surge of wind blown against them, making many spectators struggle to not fall backwards. Even Temari herself had to use her fan as a support to keep herself up.

When the dust cleared, Haku's ice dome and cold mist were gone and she herself couldn't be seen. Genma came up to Temari. "You okay miss?"

"Yeah I'm fine. No need to wor-" She was cut off when she felt a kunai pointed at her neck, then 'Genma' turned into Haku. 'Crap, I dropped my guard and let her get close.'

"Looks like I win Temari-san." The ice wielder said.

"Not yet you didn't." Temari said, swinging her fan to make Haku move back. It worked, but Haku's outfit took a hit, cutting the front of her battle kimono open and revealing her ice-blue lacy bra and panties.

'That's a girl?' Sai asked himself, genuinely surprised. He was also probably the only male his age not getting a nosebleed from the free show.

Naruto leaned in to Hinata. "Hina-chan, is it okay for me to be enjoying this?"

"Actually, yes it is Naru-kun. She's one of the nine so she'd appreciate you enjoying her body. And no, I'm not bothered by it anymore, I've made peace with the fact you need to be with more than me. Just promise me I'll be your first."

Naruto gave her a quick kiss on her cheek. "I promise, Hina-chan."

Haku briefly looked at the stands, aware that she was being eye-humped by many men, but looked to see Naruto in particular. He sent her a thumbs up and his trademark grin with a small blush, making her pleased before she looked back at Temari. "Thank you Temari-san, now Naruto-kun's going to be more interested in me than you. Especially if he sees more he likes." She then shedded her torn outfit entirely, standing unashamed in just her underwear.

Naturally a few hoots and hollers and even a 'Take it off' or two came from the crowd. But who could blame them? This was unexpected for the exams but not unwelcome and Haku was a lot more developed than she usually looked when dressed in her normal attire. Not as developed as Hinata but a close second.

"Oh yeah? Well two can play at that game!" The wind wielder said before stripping herself down to just her purple pastel bra and panties, earning a lot of cheers. With this exposure, Temari looked like her bra size may in fact match Haku's.

Haku chuckled but did nothing to interfere right then. "Oh this is going to be really fun now."

* * *

The kazekage covered his eyes when he saw his daughter take off her clothes in broad daylight. "This cannot be happening. _Please_ tell me this is not real."

"Sadly it is real Kazekage-sama." Tsunade said sympathetically to the leader of Suna.

Eyes shielded from the fighting grounds, Kazekage glared at Sarutobi and Yamato, who both felt his KI. "If either of you ever say a word about this, I'll kill you." Rings around his eyes formed as he made this threat.

Sarutobi and Yamato fearfully nodded. "We won't, but we must still watch the match to judge it correctly."

The kazekage did not look anymore settled, but his professional side made sure he did not push the issue further.

* * *

"Too bad you don't have any weapons on you anymore, but I still do." Temari taunted, showing off her fully opened fan.

"Who said I needed weapons?" Haku replied before making two hand signs and whispered a jutsu name.

Right below Temari, ice formed at her feet and swiftly encased her all the way up to her neck. She struggled but couldn't move. 'It's... like an ice version of Gaara's Sand Coffin technique.' When she looked in front of her she saw Haku had disappeared, but a shadow behind her revealed Haku was striking from behind, with senbon in her hands. 'Wait, senbon? Why would she... oh wait a minute.' Temari then released a large amount of chakra and broke free of her bindings, just in time to avoid getting hit by her opponent.

"Clever trick Momochi-san. You used a genjutsu instead of a real ice jutsu to trap me."

Haku smiled. "Oh, what gave me away?" She asked playfully, like she wasn't really bothered Temari had gotten out of her trap.

"Your senbon. Had it been real ice, you would have had to use a stronger weapon than that to make a mark on me. But with a genjutsu, all you needed was for me to hold still while you hit my pressure points."

"You're pretty smart, I'll give you that. But I'm more creative and I'm not dependent on a weapon for my jutsus to work." Haku calmly stated.

"No, you're just dependent on water, which isn't here. But I have all the air I need." Temari swung her fan. "Wind Style Cyclone Shuriken Jutsu." A number of small whirlwinds formed and flew at Haku like frisbees.

Haku quickly rushed to get a waterskin she had kept on her kimono and opened it to spill out its content, using her free hand to make hand signs. "Ice Style Rushing Ice Wall Jutsu." The water formed a giant wave that solidified and moved forward to crush Temari, but her wind attacks cut thru it and shattered the ice wall like glass, covering the entire area between them.

"Weak move Momochi-san. Although I am impressed you were able to block my attack so quickly." Temari complimented.

"Wasn't trying to block your attack." Haku said, confusing the wind wielder. "I was trying to get myself something to work with here." She then made four hand signs. "Ice Style Cold Shrapnel Storm Jutsu." All the pieces of broken ice on the ground suddenly fired at Temari and cut her good. Fortunately for her, her underwear stayed on and covered everything, but her left bra strap did snap.

"Heh, not bad Momochi-san, but not good enough." Temari said after the attack ended. Using her thumb, she took some blood from her cuts and wiped it on her fan, creating three lines with it. "Wind style Swift Weasel Jutsu." Swinging her fan, she summoned three weasels that rode the wind towards Haku.

Unable to block, Haku had to carefully dodge the animals as they came at her, showing just how nimble she was in the process. One of the weasels did hit her and put a few cuts on her left leg. And since it was a summoned attack, it could cause continous damage as long as the weasel stayed there.

Haku batted the weasel off and it disappeared, but the other two turned around and came at her from behind, giving her a few more cuts. While Haku was getting rid of them, Temari ran up and started fighting Haku directly, using what little taijutsu she knew. With the weasels gone, Haku retaliated with some taijutsu of her own.

'Alright! Catfight!' predictably went thru the minds of several men and even a few women.

* * *

Away from the stadium, Jiraiya suddenly got rigid and looked up. "I'm sensing something in the Perverseness." He said quite sagely.

"Not now Jiraiya, we've got work to do." Orochimaru told him.

"Fine, but I know I'm missing something good." The toad sage said before going back to the task at hand.

* * *

Back with the girls, a few fists were thrown and some kicks were made, and some acrobatic jumps and dodged gave everyone a good show of their skills, especially the men. But Temari backed off and grabbed her fan again and got ready to do another jutsu. Everyone could tell it was about to end really quickly, but they still couldn't tell just who would win.

"Proctor, I give." Haku called out while panting and sweating, catching Temari off guard. "I've had enough, I give."

"Okay, winner by forfeit, Temari Sabaku."

The crowd cheered, most of the loudest ones being men who also got hit by the girls around them, as Temari and Haku put their damaged clothes back on. 'I'm glad I brought a spare set.' Haku told herself. As they walked away, she smiled friendly at the Suna kunoichi. "Good match, Temari. Had I not dropped out, you probably would have crushed me."

"What do you mean 'probably'? I so would have won for sure."

Haku playfully shrugged. "Go ahead and tell yourself that. And yes, I remember the deal. You can have your turn with him first."

"I'll hold you to that." Temari replied happily. "But I promise you won't have to wait too long, if I can help it."

* * *

"So... what do you think of that match?" Yamato asked, almost like he was afraid to ask.

"Yes, what _does_ everyone think of that match?" The kazekage repeated in a dangerous tone, validating Yamato's anxiety.

"I'd say they both showed a lot of talent and diligence if not a lot of modesty." Tsunade stated, being the only one here who could provide a safe answer since she was a woman.

"I must admit, the ice user looked like she had a lot more variety in her skills than your daughter did Kazekage-sama." Sarutobi told the leader of Suna.

"My daughter didn't want to reveal too much so she'd have some secrets in her next fight." The kazekage answered.

Tsunade struggled to not laugh. "If you ask me, the only secret she's got left is whether or not she's wearing Victoria's Secret." Yamato couldn't help but laugh a little with her, but wisely shut up before the kazekage did anything.

* * *

Down in the infirmary of the stadium, Kiba was laying on a bed being treated for burns. The medic ninja had already used several burn relief jutsu and applied gauze to his tender skin. Now he just had to wait for his body to recover on it's own.

Akamaru sat down on his lap being petted while licking Kiba's other hand. Kiba himself was looking out the window. Next to his bed his father sat down with his partner Shiromaru, a large white wolf-like dog.

Gao Inuzuka was not exactly what most people expected when they thought of Kiba's father, at least not at first glance. Like how Kiba took after his mother appearance-wise, Gao actually looked more like a bearded male version of his daughter Hana. He was also a veterinarian who was teaching Hana all he knew about his work. Kiba and his father did have the same eyes and their voices were similar, but aside from that they barely looked alike at all.

"You okay son?" Gao asked.

"Yeah, I guess. I'm a bit sore that I lost, but he did it fair and square. And I'm glad Akamaru got out of it unharmed."

"That's good. So you're not going to challenge this guy for a rematch after the exams?"

"Doesn't seem to be a point. I can't beat any of these music note guys except for one girl and she was on her cycle at the time."

Gao arched an eyebrow. "Why does that matter?"

Kiba shrugged. "I dunno. What exactly is the 'that' you're referring to?"

"The fact that you mentioned her cycle. It sounds like you felt you only won because of an arbitrary reason rather than your own strength. That's no different than saying you lost because you had something in your eyes. It's just an excuse." Gao told him. Shiromaru nodded in agreement.

Kiba sighed. "I just wish there was someone I could feel I was stronger than in a fair fight where a technicality can't be used."

"Why?"

"Because you, Okaa-san, Nee-san, those music notes guys, my team, all seem to be able to either beat me and make it look so easy, or say there's something that hindered one of us so it didn't count as a real victory." Kiba explained. "You guys are older and more experienced than me, Sasuke had his bloodline than lost it so now he's weaker and that gives him a technicality if he loses, and Sakura is so feeble it's no challenge at all. I had hoped that these music note guys would put up a good fight and I could win and show everyone I don't need a loophole to do so, but the one time I do win, the girl's got an excuse for losing so I still achieve nothing I'm trying to."

"I see. Now tell me son, why is this so important to you? Is this how you want to measure your strength?" Gao asked.

"That, and I want to impress others." Kiba admitted.

"Impress others?"

"Yeah. You always said you were able to beat dozens of guys in one-on-one matches and could count the number of times you lost on one hand. I wanted to be able to claim that too. And since Okaa-san always said that was one of the things she liked most about you, I figured it would attract girls for me too."

Gao just sat their silently for a few seconds, wondering what to say here. "Son, I think I see what you're getting at. You want others to respect you as a great warrior, right?" Kiba nodded. "You think if you can prove your strength men will respect you and girls will want to date you, right?" Kiba nodded again. "Sure, it sounds like a good idea, but there's one problem with that."

"What's that?" Kiba asked.

"Son, I was much like you when I was younger. We may not look alike but I see a lot of my younger self in you. When I was your age, I was a bit of a show-off and flirt myself. I wanted to be seen as top dog too by my peers. I thought I'd have them looking up to me the way a pack looks up to its alpha. But after a while, I discovered I was making a big mistake. You see, that's how it works within the Inuzuka clan. It doesn't however work as well outside it."

"It doesn't?" Kiba asked.

Gao shook his head. "Nope. In fact, sometimes it often has the opposite effect we aim for. In our clan, you earn the respect of the men by proving you're a more effective combatant, and you earn the admiration of the women by proving you're a good provider and defender. But people outside the Inuzuka live by different rules and customs. Most men see a guy who wants to show off his strength as just a show-off, and most women see that same guy as a narcissist."

"But... you did manage to get Okaa-san so it must work right?" Kiba asked.

"Sure it worked, but your mother is a member of the clan so she was looking for someone like me. But the other girls I was trying to woo before I got together with her weren't Inuzuka so they didn't have the same standards she did." Gao told him. "Take it from my experience Kiba, don't go thru life expecting everyone to live by your rules. If you want to have a girlfriend from outside the clan, try not to act like she should have to give you her attention. That's not how I got your mother. Would you like to know how I did get her interested in me?"

"Wasn't it your winning streak?" Kiba asked.

"Nope, she actually didn't learn that until after we started dating." Gao corrected. "You know how her partner Kuromaru needs an eyepatch? Who do you think treated his wound?"

Kiba gasped. "You did?"

Gao nodded. "Yep. Before then, your mother actually thought I was a wimp. After all, I may have been a good fighter, but she didn't know that and only saw me as the man who's rather tend the injured rather than go out and fight. But Kuromaru had been hurt and he needed help right away. I tended his eye and a few other wounds he had too and she was very grateful to me. After that she accepted an offer to go out and have fun with me then found out I was stronger than she gave me credit for."

Kiba was aghast. He had always assumed that his father had to be quite a ladies man to attract the attention of a woman like Tsume Inuzuka. And he assumed if it worked for his father, it would work for him too. To hear this... blew his mind.

Gao placed his hand on his son's shoulder. "You'll find the right girl when the time comes son, and you'll gain respect for your strength and victories too as you gain more experience. Just try not to have such a one-sided view on both and you'll do fine."

Kiba slowly nodded, still looking like he had a lot to think about. "Thanks Otou-san."

* * *

"Next match, Isaribi Meikai versus Shino Aburame." Genma called out.

In no time the young bug user and the swimming enthusiast were down in the arena awaiting the signal to begin. But not without her giving Naruto a hug and hearing him wish her good luck.

Shino offered no pre-battle words or claims to his opponent, just stood there with his hands in his pockets. Yet the way he stood showed he was not taking this lightly. This was the girl who took down his class's Rookie of the Year without even using jutsu after all. Sure, Sasuke was at a big disadvantage and maybe he didn't truly deserve that title, but the fact remained that Sasuke was not powerless and this girl could easily make several of Shino's methods ineffective if he didn't act quick enough.

Isaribi got into her Assaiotaki stance armed with a trench knife in each hand. Her arms were crossed in front of her making an X shape and her left leg was in front of her right, which supported most of her weight. The stance made it very easy for her to spring forward to attack or to the side to dodge as well as attack in either case. Shino's one comfort was that she didn't have a scroll in hand to flood the arena with, but he did see one hanging on the right side of her belt.

'If I can just get that away from her, I have the terrain advantage.' Shino thought.

"Ready? Begin!" Genma called out.

Shino immediately sent out a swarm of his insects to do something about Isaribi's scroll. The purple-haired girl responded by throwing her trench knives to the ground by her feet and performing four hand signs then placing them flat on the ground before her. "Earth Style Inverted Earth Dome Jutsu."

The ground between the two genin suddenly sank and turned concave, like a meteor had hit it and left a crater. It wasn't too deep, by Shino's estimation the center of it was no deeper than twelve meters, yet he was fairly confident on what she had made this for. Fortunately for him, his bugs were unaffected by this since they were in the air and just about to reach her.

'What kind of defense is that?' Many in the stands were thinking, not seeing the purpose of making a shallow pit that bugs could just fly over.

Isaribi unhooked the scroll at her hip, but rather than open it, she just tossed it over the pit towards Shino. Since the bugs were ordered to get to the scroll and destroy it before it could be used, they turned around and went right to it, catching it in the air and attempting to tear it to pieces. While this went on, Isaribi pulled out a scroll that had been in her pocket, unseen until now.

'It was a decoy. She knew what I would do.' Shino thought. He tried commanding his swarm to ignore the scroll they had and return to get her, but it was too late.

Isaribi opened her scroll and unsealed a large amount of water that began to quickly fill up the pit she had created. Shino did manage to get his swarm to ignore the scroll they were destroying and head to her, but she countered that by jumping into the water. And as she expected, Shino's insects had many uses, but they couldn't swim.

Shino looked at her while his swarm hovered over the rising water, trying to see how he could salvage the situation. 'Okay, she's got to come up for air sometime, but when she does she's going to be completely wet and if my beetles get their wings wet they won't be able to help anymore. Maybe they'll have some time to consume a bit of her chakra, but in that amount of time she could attack me directly. It all hinges on whether or not her ability to actually attack me depends on if I'm near the water or not. If it is, then as long as I stay away from the water she can't harm me anymore than I can harm her. But if it isn't and she can use water jutsus to attack me from her position, then I'm not going to do well here.'

Underwater, Isaribi stopped the seal from releasing any more water once the pit was full enough. After that, she unsealed an oxygen mask and put it over her mouth and nose. Oxygen masks designed for aquatic ninjas never came with air tanks like scuba divers used. Instead, they came with several small seals on the inside that periodically released bits of air for the diver's convenience, usually good for a consecutive time of thirty minutes. Now Isaribi was completely at her leisure to fight without Shino's bugs getting her.

Now Shino may have been at a disadvantage here, but he wasn't without idea. He saw her fight in the preliminaries and thus spent the past month working on a way to get around her water methods. 'If I could just get her out of the water, then I'd stand a chance. So how do I do that?'

Shino saw one obvious option, and knew it was a risk, but it was his best shot. Shino ordered his swarm to leave the air above the makeshift pond and he himself walked out onto it. Once in the center, he just stood there, but his hands were no longer in his pockets.

'What's he planning?' Isaribi and several watchers asked themselves.

Shino suddenly raised his arms, then thrust them down back at his sides quickly. No one else could see a purpose to this, but Isaribi saw two objects descending down at her into the water. She tried to back away, but being in water meant she had some resistance to sudden movements. Fortunately that same resistance applied to what Shino threw at her so she got away with only some cuts rather than real wounds.

A quick look showed Shino apparently had a set of larger than normal kunai hidden in both sleeves that were now embedded in the ground where Isaribi had been. Both missed her but cut her legs when she got out of the way. 'Clever trick pal. Now it's my turn.' Isaribi pulled the kunais out, clasped her hands together with them both pointing forward, and crouched down. "Tactic Three Dolphin Bite." She then sprang up with a lot of speed, rushing at the Aburame heir.

She burst out of the water right in front of Shino, looking like she was about to stab him. He defended himself by ducking towards his right side in a flexible way most never would have expected of him. As Isaribi dove over where he had been, he straightened up with his left elbow pointed out and hit her in the ribs quite hard. The purple-haired girl winced and her trajectory was affected, making her land with a belly flop on the water. Even for her that hurt.

During her brief moment of incoherency, Shino grabbed ahold of her arms and held them behind her against her back while he pulled out a short sword his sensei had given him and held to the back of her neck. "Had enough?" He asked. 'My bugs may not be able to effectively harm her anymore, but I still can.'

With only one of his hands holding her own in place, Isaribi managed to struggle enough to get one of her hands free and into her supply pouch. Shino couldn't stop her without releasing her and his swarm couldn't reach her in time. She pulled out a small black ball and threw it in his face. The ball broke and ink sprayed all over his high collar, glasses, and some skin too, effectively blinding him. "Tactic Four Octopus Bite." In his confusion, Isaribi struggled completely free and swam to the side of the makeshift pond where she left her trench knives earlier. She grabbed them and came back to Shino, who had removed his glasses to see better. She used her knives to cut his legs before diving back underwater. The cuts stung but they wouldn't hinder him.

Shino sheathed his sword but pulled back the sleeve on his left arm, showing he had a senbon launcher concealed as well. Pulling the trigger, he set off a wave of needles into the water that flew with a lot more force than his sword attacks from earlier had too. Many hit Isaribi, none in lethal places, but the water around her became a bit red.

Isaribi ignored the pain as best she could, put away her trench knives, and made three hand signs. "Water Style Seas at Storm Jutsu." all of a sudden the water in the basin became turbulent and constantly waving and splashing around, as if a large amount of wind was brewing overhead. And it got worse as it continued, until it truly resembled a sea during a storm.

With that, Shino found it difficult to remain standing on top the water and fell in before he could get away. And if that wasn't bad enough, Aburames were not the best swimmers around, due to the unique physiology of their bodies. Under the water, their was a current he struggled against to get back to the surface, and he couldn't see Isaribi. When he did, she was apparently going along with the current until it took her to him, her trench knives back in hand ready to cut him again.

The current soon brought her towards him, and as she approached she stretched both arms out with her trench knives pointed inward, as if she planned a pincer move with them when he was in her range. "Tactic Five Crab Bite." Shino heard her say. With only one idea in mind, Shino gathered all the chakra he could for the water walking exercise and practically rocketed himself out of the water and back onto the land. Once on Terra Firma he coughed and was surrounded by his swarm, concerned for their host.

Isaribi's pond calmed down and she stuck her head out of the water to see what Shino would do next. After a moment to compose himself, Shino stood back up. "Proctor, I surrender. I can do no more to her now."

Genma accepted this. "Winner by forfeit, Isaribi Meikai." Several cheers went out for the swimming enthusiast, the loudest being from her team. Isaribi sealed away her water and even unsealed two towels to dry off with, one of which she gracefully handed to Shino. "Here you go. No hard feelings right?"

He nodded. "Yes. To be honest, I never really thought I would win against you. I just wanted to see how well I could do before I couldn't do any more. Now I know my limitations. Thank you."

"No problem. And I must say you have pretty eyes." Isaribi added, giggling when she saw he was blushing. "Don't think about it too much, I'm seeing someone anyway. But for a moment there, when you had me pinned down, you actually might have won."

"Too bad I didn't." Shino said without regret.

* * *

"I personally wasn't that impressed with either of them, if I do say so myself." The kazekage told his fellow village leaders.

"I can understand regarding the girl, but I saw a good deal of improvising from the Aburame." Sarutobi politely countered. "Most members of his clan use only clan methods to do their obs. He knew that wouldn't work here so he tried something new. Which is important for our young shinobi to learn and grow into stronger fighters."

"I'll concede that to you Hokage-sama, but he didn't seem to really put up much of a fight in my opinion. It felt more like he was just winging it since he couldn't use his specialty." Kazekage replied.

Sarutobi made a thoughtful hum in response. "I'm actually more bothered by the girl. Sure, she proved to be exceptional on her own turf, but so far she looks to be completely dependent on the presence of water in order to fight. Hardly chuunin material if you ask me."

"We'll find out later if she can handle fights outside of water." Yamato commented. "I have a feeling that after fighting this match this way, her next opponent will be prepared for that and she knows that, so she'll have to try something new."

"We'll have to see about that then." Sarutobi stated.


	63. Finals 3

Ch. 63 Finals 3

"Next match, Dosu Kinuta versus Hinata Hibiki." Genma called out.

Naruto leaned towards Hinata before she could go down into the arena. "Hina-chan, I know you'll do well, but please keep your clothes on."

She warmly smiled. "Don't worry. I don't intend to give anybody a free show. I'm not even sure why those two did. That wasn't very professional of them."

Naruto shrugged. "We'll just have to ask them later. You better get going before you're late."

Hinata nodded and hurried down, with Dosu doing the same. Dosu wasn't as worried about this match as he had been when it was called a month ago. Naruto told him he wouldn't make it personal if Hinata got hurt, and Hinata said she didn't want him afraid to fight his best because of Naruto and she'd keep him in line if he acted out.

The two stood in their designated stops and faced each other. The Hyuuga looked on with the most interest here, hoping Hinata would need medical attention when this was over so they could take her away with few if any people noticing. They also hoped to see if they could figure out any secrets about her unique fighting style as they watched.

Neji probably had the most interest out of all the Hyuuga, but ironically he didn't have it for the same reason as the rest of his clan. The clan was fixiated on making sure Hinata was under their control so she and her village could never use their power against them, 'them' being the clan not Konoha, and so she and her family would not give the Hyuuga a bad name elsewhere in the world. But as far as Neji was concerned, acquiring her would just be acquiring one more nobody and no matter how unique her fighting style may be it was still in the developing stages whereas the juuken had been perfected over generations. She got lucky because he had expected different from her, but in his eyes, if he fought her again, she would fall before him without a struggle.

Oh the lies the proud tell themselves to stay proud.

"Ready? Begin!" Genma declared.

"Byakugan." Hinata said, activating her doujutsu and got into her surudoken stance, which resembled that of a samurai holding a sword but her hands were empty and stretched out.

Dosu got into his own stance, which was mainly him crouching forward making him look a lot like a lion ready to pounce. His left hand held all his upper body weight so he could freely move his covered right hand when he needed to.

Hinata made the first move, trying to close the gap. 'This will be tough since we're both close range fighters, but he doesn't need to even touch me to affect me. My best bet is to hit him before he can hit me and stick it out if I am hit.' She ran up to him ready to hit him with a surudoken strike. Dosu held his right arm out in front of him defensively, knowing if she struck the gauntlet instead it would hurt her more than it would hurt him. Hinata instead placed both palms on the ground and swung on them to her left side, delivering a roundhouse kick to Dosu's back.

The maned genin involuntarily dived forward upon contact but caught himself and flipped over, standing straight up when he landed. "Melody Gauntlet High Pitch Screech." A sound like a siren was made and everyone who heard it covered their ears. To Dosu's surprise, Hinata didn't. 'What the...? Oh, she must have put ear plugs in place just before she came down here. That'll help her, but it won't stop all my attacks.'

Dosu ended his attack, much to the relief of the audience. Hinata ran up to him and tried to hit his tenketsu. She found it wasn't that easy since Dosu was wearing armor under his clothes to act as a barrier to her attacks. The armor couldn't stop her strikes, but it did make them less effective. It also limited his movements so he couldn't effectively fight her back.

With Hinata being close to him, Dosu attempted to get a few hits on her by throwing some punches and kicks in. It was going fine but not good enough for his tastes, so he added something extra when he got his right arm right in front of Hinata's face. "Melody Gauntlet Sonic Boom." A huge sudden burst of sound erupted from his gauntlet with the force of a cannon, hitting Hinata in point-blank range. The force of the attack sent her flying back far enough that she almost collided with the wall surrounding the arena, landing on her stomach.

"Oh crap, please tell me I didn't kill her. Naruto's going to kill me." Dosu told himself quietly.

Hinata painfully struggled to get up, her arms and legs protesting her movements. Her head pounded and she was certain her ears were bleeding now that her earplugs had gotten dislodged and were probably lying scattered in the arena. Her byakugan was still active so even with her eyes clenched she could still see that so far Dosu had yet to approach her. If she waited too long, he'd change his mind and continue his attacks.

Using as much strength as she could, Hinata pushed herself onto her feet as soon as she saw Dosu run to keep fighting her. "Five Trigrams Acupuncture Assault." She said before striking him with many blows, looking like a normal Hyuuga would in fighting. But there was a big difference here. When Hyuugas attack, they generally use a fixed number of strikes and/or in a specific order to get a specific result. This attack threw order out the window and allowed Hinata to strike wherever she wanted in whatever order she wanted and however many times. The downside was that this meant the result could either be pleasurable or excruciating, based on sheer chance. Pleasurable if all the strikes happened to cancel each other out, and excruciating if they didn't. Hinata had no way of knowing for sure what the result would be.

She finished to avoid wearing her arms out too soon in the match and stepped back. Dosu was stiff but loosened up and even stretched his limbs a bit, overall looking a bit relaxed. Apparently Hinata's attack had the helpful result rather than the harmful. 'Damn, I'm going to have to hit harder now, but I don't want to give anything away to those nosy Hyuugas. I may have to chance it.' She crossed her arms in front of herself forming an X, but her expression showed she wasn't hiding. "Five Trigrams Sword and Club Confusion." She thrust her arms forward and moved to attack him yet again.

Dosu tried deflecting her blows but was having little luck. 'Damn, I better use that technique Kabuto-sensei taught me before I lose all my chakra here.' He made one hand sign. "Leech Palm Jutsu." His left hand became covered in chakra and he used that to hit her while using his armored right arm to block her blows.

The Hyuugas watching were confused by what they saw thru their byakugans. 'This is quite unusual. The defiant girl has both her hands tipped with chakra, but they aren't the same. The right ends with sharp points and the left end with blunt points. What does she hope to accomplish with such an awkward combination? Not to mention that the covered up boy has a chakra covered hand too which moves inwardly as if they were suction behind it.'

Hinata felt her chakra being taken from her a few times already. If Dosu kept this up, she'd run out before she made him bleed his own, unless her current jutsu worked first. Her technique, Sword and Club Confusion, was a combination of the juuken and surudoken. The Sword was the surudoken, used to open the tenketsu, while the Club was the juuken, used to close them. Used at the same time like this resulted in an attack that repeatedly opened and closed chakra points on a person over and over again. The result was the entire chakra network would be thrown into array and shut down, leaving no ability to mold chakra or perform jutsu, with an added bonus of the remaining open tenketsu still bleeding out chakra.

So far Hinata's technique was working perfectly, but there was a setback. Dosu blocked most of her hits he could with his melody gauntlet, primarily her left handed hits. Each hit triggered a small sonic blast as an automatic defense, which left a numb feeling in her fingers and a ringing in her ears. She couldn't afford to hit harder or let Dosu use it since she had yet to regain her earplugs, and if he kept blocking this way, her balance would falter and she'd have a hard time keeping chakra in her fingers for a time.

To put it simply, the two were quite evenly matched right then.

* * *

"There. That should take care of everything we wanted to do beforehand." Jiraiya said, wiping some sweat out of his eyes. "Now what do we do?"

"We wait for the signal from Tsunade." Orochimaru told him.

"By the way, where did Kushina and Subsonic go?"

Orochimaru smiled. "They're where they want to be for this little event."

* * *

The two genin had to cease their attacks briefly to rest their arms and catch their breaths. Hinata was the more physically worn out but her chakra levels were fine to continue. Dosu however was physically better with more stamina but his chakra levels were dramatcially lessened. Hinata was breathing heavier than Dosu also.

Dosu planted his right hand on the ground. "Melody Gauntlet Heavy Bass Blast." A soundwave went right thru the ground and up Hinata's body from her feet. She felt like her internal organs were rattling around inside her, and with her balance already affected she collapsed on her right side.

'Ugh, do I look as nauseous as I feel? I swear I gotta throw up.' She told herslef as she struggled back to her feet.

"Sorry Hinata, nothing personal." Dosu stated before recreating the Leech Palm and placing it on her back. He was still bleeding chakra from her hits but this helped stabilize him a little bit. Hinata then surprised him by reaching up and grabbing his shirt collar, pulling him closer to her face.

'What the...? She looks like she's about to kiss him, but I know she'd rather drink out of the toilet than do that.' Isaribi thought. She and Naruto and the other selected girls watched this intensely.

Hinata pulled Dosu's face close to her own, and then vomited all over him. In mere moments Dosu was covered in it and had to step back.

"Ah yuck!" He yelled as he tried to wipe the stuff off of him.

'I don't know if I should be relieved or grossed out.' Naruto thought, but he did lightly smile nonetheless.

Anko struggled not to laugh. "Atta girl."

"Oh that's so disgusting." Sakura said looking away.

With Dosu distracted Hinata got up to her feet, holding her stomach and wiping her mouth. 'I hope that was everything. He's not going to fall for that a second time.' She came up to him and readied herself. "Five Trigrams Sixty-Four Needles." She moved like a normal Hyuuga would, striking first twice, then four times, then eight times, then sixteen times, then thirty-two times, and finally sixty-four times.

Dosu took them all with his melody gauntlet barely providing any cover that time, and fell backwards. He could still move, and now with his face cleaned he could see again, but he need he was on his last legs. 'Damn. I've probably got enough left for one last attack. Do I go for it, or play dead and accept defeat?'

Genma watched on, waiting for any sign the maned Oto Genin would be able to get back up. He saw the boy struggle, but he couldn't seem to lift himself anymore. "Dosu Kinuta is unable to continue. Winner, Hinata Hibiki."

Many cheers went out for the white-eyed girl, but none of them came from the Hyuugas. Not that she cared in the slightest what they thought. Hinata smiled at her boyfriend and made a V with her fingers, which he returned.

* * *

"That was pretty impressive if I do say so myself." The kazekage told his fellow village leaders.

"I like how she turned his attack against him." Tsunade commented.

"What do you mean by that?" Yamato asked.

"It's obvious those sound attacks made her nauseous, so she made sure to put him in a place where she could use that upset feeling as an advantage rather than a disadvantage. Quite clever and unexpected if you ask me, albeit a bit unorthodox but hey, ninja's are supposed to fight dirty."

Yamato chuckled. "Yeah, and that was quite dirty."

"Outside that, I'm surprised someone with a byakugan raised outside of Konoha could fight so well." Sarutobi noted, curious on what the Oto representative would say on the matter.

"She's had quite some time to train in this unique style, given the generations before her." Yamato said, well aware of the cover for Hinata's back ground. The truth was Hinata, Hanabi, and Naruto with his Neo-Byakugan were the first ones learning the surudoken. Hitomi had come up with the theory behind it, and showed them some moves based off the juuken to use it with, but true credit for creating the surudoken went to the three kids who trained in it for ten years by now.

"Her presence has caused quite a commotion in the Hyuuga clan this past month." Sarutobi added.

"I can imagine so."

"I already had to arrest one of them for trying to abduct her, as per the International Chuunin Exam Laws. Now the clan is asking for a way to trade for her."

Yamato and Tsunade arched an eyebrow, but only Yamato actually looked at the hokage. "Trade for her? As in I give you her if you give me one of your ninja?"

"Would you be interested?" The old man asked.

'Oh that was a bad thing to say Sensei.' Tsunade told herself, struggling to not hit something right then.

"Hypothetically speaking, if I were to agree to such a thing, who would I gain in exchange? And how would this help the girl's clan back home?" Yamato asked to see what the old man's answer would be. He had no intention of making such a deal, but he felt this would be good blackmail material for later.

"Well, how does the last Uchiha in Konoha sound to you?"

'What's your angle Sensei?' Tsunade asked herself. 'I know the spoiled brat is useless in your eyes now, but as far as you know no one else outside Konoha knows he's without the sharingan. Surely you know offering him would look suspicious, or are you and this village truly giving up on him?' Judging from the look on Yamato's face, she could tell he was thinking along similar lines.

"Why would you be willing to give away an heir to such an important clan, for any reason? And you still have yet to explain how this benefits the girl or her own clan. Why should the Hyuuga benefit here but not the Hibiki?"

"Well I'm certain the girl can get more informed training regarding her eyes and ancestry if she came here, and her clan could feel safe knowing the rest of the Hyuuga would not hunt them down and eliminate them out of spite if this happened. As for the heir, wouldn't a small village such as yours love to be able to say you have member of such a prosperous clan in your ranks?" Sarutobi explained smoothly, talking like a true politician.

'Oh that is complete crap.' Tsunade thought, spoken like someone who listened to a true politician.

"So would you accept the offer?" Sarutobi asked.

Yamato waved him off. "I was speaking hypothetically Hokage-sama. I alone cannot make such a decision, especially without consulting the Hibiki's."

"At least keep it in mind will you?"

"Oh I will."

"Excuse me please, but I need to go use the restroom and get another drink while I'm at it." Tsunade said as she stepped out of the kage box.

* * *

Hinata wobbled up to her team, still smiling and feeling a bit sick to her stomach. 'I better brush my teeth soon or I won't be able to kiss Naru-kun anytime soon.' She thought before holding down another taste of bile.

Before any of the Oto nin could approach her, an Anbu agent did. "Excuse me miss, but you don't look so well. You should probably go to the infirmary and get looked at. I can lead you if you don't know where it is."

It was a good thing Hinata was queasy because she could not contain her groan. 'Seriously? Someone actually thought I'd be stupid enough to accept this offer? I'm insulted.'

Kabuto showed up. "Thank you for the offer but I'm this girl's physician so I'll be checking her."

The Anbu had to pause to think up a good reply. In that time, Kabuto tried to lead Hinata away. Seeing he was about to lose his chance, the Anbu resorted to blurting something out. "It would be better for her to see a real physician."

Kabuto frowned and adjusted his glasses. "Sir, do not mock my skills in caring for the ninja from my own village, and do not interfere with matters that do not concern you. All she likely has is a case of nausea with disbalance, easily treatable outside an infirmary. Let me do my job in peace and go back to your own."

The Anbu's expression could not be seen thru the mask, but Kabuto was certain he was annoyed. "Very well." He then disappeared in a leaf shushin.

"He was probably sent by the Hyuugas or the hokage to abduct me wasn't he?" Hinata asked, more for confirmation than for an answer.

"Highly likely. Fortunately he could not do that without causing a fuss." Kabuto replied. "Now lay down and I'll see what I can do."

* * *

"Final match of the first round. Would Gaara Sabaku and Rock Lee please come down here?" Genma called out. 'Damn, my voice is getting tired from all this announcing. I sure wish Hayate-san didn't have that indigestion today so he could do this as scheduled. Or for that matter that I hadn't been in Hokage-sama's office when he found out Hayate needed a replacement. Just my luck.'

The two named genin came down into the arena, Gaara by using a sand shunshin and Lee by jumping over the edge of the wall that separated the arena from the stadium seats. Gaara's gourd was uncorked and he looked ready to fight. Lee stretched his legs and arms and looked ready to prove himself.

'He's supposed to be a fast target and a heavy hitter, and from what Subsonic-san told me he is incapable of performing jutsu for some reason. I suspect my sand may have difficulty at times with apprehending him, but I shouldn't have too much trouble.' The raccoon-eyed boy told himself.

'From what I saw in Tenten-chan's match, he uses sand for attack and defense. And he has enough control over it to do multiple things with it. But he looks slow and not accustomed to taking hits. If I can land a few good hits to him directly, I will surely win.' The green-clad genin thought.

"Ready? Begin!" Genma called out.

'I must strike now before he calls his sand out to block me with.' Lee thought as he ran up to Gaara to hit him with a solid punch. He pulled his right fist back then threw it forward to hit Gaara roughly around the collar bone region, but sand came out of the gourd immediately to block it. 'The sand, it moved almost as if it were alive.' Lee thought, amazed by the absolution of the defensive properties the sand displayed. He pulled his arm back before the sand could engulf his hand.

As Lee back away Gaara had his sand pour out of his gourd and cover the ground around him, spreading out to give him a vast amount to use right away. Lee was cautious, knowing this would limit his chances of landing any hits on his opponent. When the sand stopped spreading, it rose up to create a field of spikes pointing in all directions.

'He has quite a defense built up to prevent close attacks, but leaves himself open to ranged attacks.' Lee analyzed, seeing Gaara still standing where he did before with his arms crossed. 'He looks as if he's testing me, like he wants to see my reaction. Well I won't disappoint him, that's for sure.'

Lee didn't usually carry weapons on him, preferring his body be his weapon itself. But this was the chuunin exams and he had to come prepared. He reached into his weapon pouch and pulled out a few kunai before throwing them at Gaara. A wall of sand rose to provide cover while Lee ran over the sand spikes to get closer. Gaara waved his arms to make the spikes move in an attempt to hit him.

'As I suspected, his control is not limited to one action at a time. He is a worthy opponent.' Lee thought as he nimbly dodged the sand skewers coming from all directions. His dodges made him look like an acrobat, and he made sure to punch or kick a few of them to avoid actually being hit. The sand he hit crumbled but the points always reformed. In no time Lee was close enough to jump over Gaara's sand wall and land behind him.

Once Lee landed, Gaara turned around and threw his own fist, hitting Lee in the jaw.

Temari, Kankuro, and the Kazekage watched that in sheer surprise. 'Did that just happen? I've never seen Gaara actually attack someone directly like that.'

Lee's endurance made him able to withstand this attack easily, and he countered with his own hit to Gaara's face. Gaara's endurance wasn't as high and he faltered in his standing for a time before his sand held him upright.

'He _hit_ Gaara?' The other Suna nin asked themselves.

Gaara's face showed some cracks on it, confusing Lee. He looked carefully and saw grains of sand moving to repair the crack. 'He's wearing sand over his skin? Doesn't that hinder him or cost him a lot of chakra to maintain?'

Gaara threw another punch, but Lee was better at hand-to-hand combat than the Suna jinchuuriki was. Lee could tell this and settled for just blocking the hit. 'Why is he attacking me like this rather than with his preferred method? Is he testing himself too? Far be it for me to deny him a chance to improve his skills.'

Lee added a sideswipe kick with his left leg to test Gaara's reaction. A tendril of sand rose up and caught his leg before it could hit Gaara, and it would not let go. It covered his entire foot and shin, and felt like it was compressing tightly. Startled, Lee tried to hit it with his left fist to remove it, but the sand engulfed his left hand and forearm as well with a separate tendril and constricted around it. Two more rose up from the ground to trap his other limbs, effectively holding him in place spread eagle.

Gaara grinned at seeing his opponent trapped. "You'll make a good test subject for my new attack." He held out his right hand and sand came up into the palm, swirling around to create an orb that kept spinning. "Sand Rasengan."

'Rasengan?' Sarutobi asked himself.

Naruto smiled. 'So you did create that technique you told me I gave you an idea for. Not bad Gaara. Although your taijutsu still needs some work, but we'll work on that later.'

Gaara slammed the spinning sand ball into Lee's abdomen. The motion of the attack tore open his jumpsuit and greatly irritated his exposed skin before cutting it open. The damage ended there because the jutsu did too.

'Damn, I still can't maintain the form properly for more than a few seconds. Using pure chakra like Naruto does is so much easier than using a solid substance.' Gaara thought. He then released Lee, who collapsed briefly but got back on his feet right away, covering his shallow wound as best he could.

Lee groaned, hoping his wound wouldn't get infected. "You're good. I guess I'll have to fight unrestrained then." He reached down into his orange leg warmers and pulled out several rods wrapped together. "That's better. Now I can move much more freely." He then dropped them, and a very loud thud resulted in them hitting the ground, not to mention the two craters created by them. The impact even made some of Gaara's sand structures such as the nearby spikes and the wall Lee had jumped over collapse.

"Holy crap! He carries that much weight on him? And still can move that fast?" Sakura asked, barely able to believe what her eyes told her. Almost everyone except Lee's team had similar thoughts.

Gaara seemed aware of the implications of removing such weights and moved his sand to trap Lee right away. Lee ran around to behind Gaara, moving so far he was just a green blur. He ran fast enough that the sand spikes still surrounding Gaara crumbled before him, unable to hurt him at all. Once behind his opponent the green-clad genin ran right at him for a sneak attack. Gaara turned around just moments before Lee could hit a blindspot.

Lee performed a Dynamic Entry style kick to Gaara's shoulder, knocking him forward. At the same time, he unwrapped some of his bandages from his arms and wrapped them around Gaara. The redhead boy couldn't escape and was tied up like one of Kankuro's puppets. "Primary Lotus." Lee declared as he pulled Gaar'as bound bod close to him and threw it up into the air with a solid kick. Once up he jumped up to join Gaara. "Secondary Lotus." He proceeded to kick Gaara again to make his fall to the ground that much harder. His opponent ended up making another crater.

'How can someone not even using jutsu or weapons be able to do this to Gaara?' Kankuro asked, astounded but also worried for his brother.

Temari looked skeptical. 'This is _too_ easy for him. Gaara must be holding back, letting him get a few hits in. If Gaara wasn't, this guy wouldn't be standing right now. Gaara, what are you planning?'

Lee landed on his feet like a cat and looked to see the extent of the damage he had caused. When he peered into the crater, he saw the bandages unfurl, but underneath them was not what he had expected to see. It was a hollow shell of sand that resembled Gaara but with many body parts broken off, especially the face. 'Uh? Did he use a Substitution with the sand?'

Sand started to bubble up from the ground around him, then crumbled away to reveal Gaara, not looking too pleased. "Is that all you can fight me with? A few kicks and punches? Do you not have more to offer?" Even though Gaara was informed Lee could not use jutsu, he still hoped to see more out of the green-clad genin then just taijutsu alone.

'He wanted to see this guy's abilities before he went all out?' Temari asked herself. 'Is that why he used some direct moves himself too? To test this guy's reactions? Probably not the best idea otouto.'

Gaara extended his right hand then swept it from. "Sand Shuriken." Discs of sand emerged from the ground and flew right towards Lee. The green-clad genin easily dodged them but many more shot out, forcing him to stay on the move.

* * *

"Sorry I took so long. I couldn't find any sake right away." Tsunade said as she returned to the kage box with a sake-filled gourd in her hand. "Did I miss anything good?"

"Nothing much. The boy from Suna is putting up a good fight and seems to have the boy from Konoha on the ropes." Yamato answered.

'He better win.' Sarutobi thought in regards to Lee. 'He's the only genin from Konoha left. If he doesn't advance, it'll reflect badly on us. But I can't just disqualify the kazekage's son without legitimate reason. Nor can I just promote the genin that did participate just for show. This must not be a good year for Konoha. I only hope it doesn't get worse.'

* * *

"Orochimaru." A slug the size of a housecat said as it appeared before the snake sannin. "I bring word from Tsunade-sama."

"Is it time?" Jiraiya asked.

"Just about. The last match of the first round is under way. She recommends beginning before the second round can commense."

Orochimaru nodded. "That's what I intended all along. Anything else?"

"Yes, you may find this of interesting note. The hokage has actually requested your substitute to trade genin between the villages. Specifically, the hokage wants you to give young Hinata to Konoha and would give you the last Uchiha in exchange."

Orochimaru glared but not at the slug. "Oh your ass is going to be kicked for that Sensei!"

Jiraiya nodded. "Agreed. Sure, we know the Uchiha will regain his sharingan soon enough, but they don't. So what he's planning is, in his eyes, a completely one-sided beneficial trade."

"Exactly. That's one more insult too many to the people we care about." Orochimaru stated, earning another nod from his teammate. He looked at the slug. "There's probably no way to inform Tsunade-chan now to be ready without alerting the old man, so don't return to her just yet. We'll get ready to begin in a matter of moments."

"Understood sir." The slug said before disappearing.

"So what are we waiting for?" Jiraiya asked.

Orochimaru smiled. "The final preparation. And then we strike."

* * *

Anko felt a sudden presence of weight in her left pocket and it started to move up her body under her clothes. She immediately recognized the feel as a summoned snake. 'Jiisan must have a message.' She told herself, showing no awareness of anything other than the fight in the arena she was watching.

Careful to not be seen, the snake stopped before it could poke it's head out from under her jacket. "Orochimaru-sama says it's time to prepare the sedations."

Anko barely smiled. "Will do." she whispered, and the snake disappeared. "Kabuto-kun, Kurenai-chan, we've got work to do." She whispered to them so no one would overhear them.

Anko walked away first, then Kurenai followed but went in a different direction, and soon Kabuto walked away too. No one who saw thought anything of it.

* * *

"Sand Kunai." Gaara called out, trying a new attack in hopes of hitting Lee. Spikes of sand formed from the ground around him and fired at the green-clad genin who had been dodging all of Gaara's methods so far but hadn't yet been able to return any attacks. Lee now was using a previously hidden set of nunchaku to deflect the sand projectiles.

'Dammit, it's almost like he doesn't know any jutsu other than taijutsu. I had hoped to impress Otou-sama here by showing some taijutsu I've bothered to learn and showing how my sand can work against enemy jutsus, but I can't do that here. I should just end this now.' Gaara thought.

"You are a worthy opponent." Lee complimented.

"You are talented to keep up with me like this, but I grow bored." Gaara replied. He extended his right hand with an open fist, as if he was trying to grasp some sort of invisible bar. "Sand Coffin."

Lee saw and felt a large amount of sand rise up around him and beneath him. He tried to jump away but the sand followed like a predator. Unable to dodge in midair, Lee tried to fight it but touching the sand only trapped him sooner. Quite quickly Lee was encased all the way up to his neck.

'He did this to Tenten-chan too. The sand is so compact I can't get out.' Lee thought. 'I may have one way to escape though. Gai-sensei, do not be upset over what I must do.' He closed his eyes briefly and everyone could feel his chakra spike.

Gaara regained his interest, at least somewhat. 'Is he finally preparing something worth fighting against?'

"First gate Gate of Opening open!" Lee yelled as he began opening the eight chakra gates, allowing his chakra to surge throughout his entire body and strength his muscles. The sand around him started to crack and break off but it still held. "Second gate Gate of Rest open!" Lee said as he continued his last resort. Now the sand struggled even more to contain the taijutsu enthusiast.

* * *

Anko, Kurenai, and Kabuto watched this with interest from the roof of the stadium. 'If this keeps up, he may harm Gaara. We need him unharmed to make this work as well as we want it too, along with Naruto and Fuu. We should probably get started now then.'

"Ready?" Kurenai asked. Anko and Kabuto nodded. "Let's do this thing."

All three of them began a set of hand signs.

* * *

"Sand Burial." Gaara said, closing his fist in an effort to restrain Lee further. 'I'm not sure if this will kill him or not, but it should knock him out or stop whatever he's doing. Besides, it's likely he would have been a casualty soon anyway.'

The sudden increase in pressure from the sand began to get to Lee and he knew if he didn't get out soon he was going to be crushed to death. "Third gate Gate of Life open!" His chakra practically surged around him like a storm and his skin turned red with bulging veins in random places. A closer look and one would swear his pupils disappeared too.

Screaming, Lee was finally able to shatter the sand encasement around him despite Gaara's expert control of it. But he didn't move right away. Rather he momentarily stood still, as if getting used to this surge of power. During that one moment, something unexpected happened.

Feathers started to fall over the entire area.

Gaara smiled. 'It's time.'

The invasion was now underway.


	64. Invasion 1

Ch. 64 Invasion 1

"What is the meaning of this?" Sarutobi asked when he saw a genjutsu being applied to the stadium.

People unprepared for this, and there were quite a few of those, were caught in it and forced to fall asleep. Most of these were civilians and nobles, the types who couldn't recognize a genjutsu even if their lives depended on it because they had no training for it. Most of the ninja saw it begin to take effect but only half of them at most could stop it from affecting them. They would need the other half to get them out of it right away.

Tsunade smiled. "Belated justice, _Sensei_."

That certainly drew Sarutobi's attention away from the developing crisis. "What the...? Are you_ in_ on this Tsunade?"

The slug sannin grinned at him and cracked her knuckles. "More than you might imagine, you lousy bastard."

It was hard to tell what was more disturbing for Sarutobi, her words or the way she was saying them. Tsunade didn't look or sound angry aside from making a fist. Nope, she looked like she was going to enjoy this more than she enjoyed drinking.

Sarutobi tried to stand up but he saw his body was bound down, particularly his wrists and feet. He looked and saw gold sand acting as shackles. "What is going on here?"

The yondaime kazekage grinned, revealing the suddenly visible rings around his eyes. "Payback, for what you've done and tried to do."

"And you're not the only one we're getting a pound of flesh from old man." Yamato added.

"ANBU!" Sarutobi shouted. "WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"

The kazekage used his gold dust to create a wall to buy them some time and keep the anbu away. In the process this allowed Sarutobi to break free, but he didn't mind. He wanted the old man to put up a bit of a fight before they punished him.

Yamato spoke into a hidden microphone in his face plate. "Guardians 2, 3, 4, and 5, my position now! Box us in. Guardian 1, provide them cover and bring you-know-who."

Sarutobi jumped back and took off his hokage robes, revealing his classical ninja outfit complete with armor. "What is the meaning of all this?"

"Looks like we're not the only ones who were prepared for a fight." Tsunade said, cracking her knuckles.

"Tsunade, explain yourself! What is going on on here?" Sarutobi sternly demanded.

"I told you Sensei, this is justice."

"You would betray your own village?"

Tsunade laughed. "I haven't even set foot in Konoha for over a decade. How can you call this my village? Besides, I may have been born here, but this isn't my home. My home... and my allegiance... is Otogakure."

Sarutobi narrowed his eyes at Yamato, who had discarded his Otokage robes in favor of an ordinary jounin outfit. "Otokage, you won't get away with this."

Yamato chuckled. "You're wrong about two things old man. We _will_ get away with this, and I'm not the real Otokage. He should be here right about... now!"

With that, several figures got past Kazekage's gold dust barrier and landed by the three facing the old hokage. Four of these figures didn't stay long and got into a square position around the group, performing a rapid set of hand signs. As they did, one more figure and Yamato departed, leaving only five people before Sarutobi including Tsunade and the Yondaime Kazekage.

The old man could hardly believe what he was seeing. "Jiraiya? Orochimaru? KUSHINA?"

The three aforementioned shinobi, standing beside Tsunade, all nodded, none looking happy. "Hello Sarutobi-sensei." Orochimaru said. "You have no idea how much we're looking forward to this little reunion."

* * *

Back in the arena, Lee appeared to be too active to fall victim to the genjutsu that was affecting everyone except those from Oto and Suna.

'Looks like I'll have to knock him out myself.' Gaara thought as sand formed in his hands to form a spear with an odd-shaped head. "Ultimate Offense Shukaku Spear." He said as it formed then he threw it.

The spear did knock Lee back but it looked like it barely damaged him thanks to having three gates open. Lee acted like he was simply delayed and got ready to charge at the Suna genin again, completely unaware that an invasion was happening around him. The overwhelming chakra was probably the only reason the genjutsu hadn't affected him yet.

When Lee took two steps he suddenly fell face first on the ground with a heavy thud, leaving an imprint of his body in the ground. Gaara's eyes widened. "What the hell?"

Naruto showed up next to him. "Sorry to interfere like that, but there's no point in wasting time here. We've got serious fights to do."

Gaara smiled and retracted all his sand. "Thanks old friend."

"Now let's go kick some serious ass!" Naruto exclaimed before deactivating his Gravity Control which he used to subdue Lee then jumping away. Gaara followed and so did the others in their group.

* * *

Up in the stands, Sakura had managed to break free of the genjutsu before it took full effect on her, but she didn't see a lot of people around her that had been as lucky. She got up and ran to her friends, who had escaped or been released from it by other ninja, but was stopped by Kakashi. "Kakashi-sensei?"

"Sakura, go to the infirmary and see if Kiba is active or not. Come back here with or without him after you find out and then I'll tell you what to do." He ordered before turning around to fight an approaching Suna nin.

Sakura silently nodded before running to where her teammate was supposed to be. Down in the hallway ahead of her, she heard some rough fighting going on. 'Sounds like a dog is involved, but it doesn't sound like Akamaru. Does the enemy have dogs too?' She hid behind a corner and carefully looked around it, seeing an older man with Inuzuka marks and a large white dog fighting a ninja she didn't recognize and couldn't see any symbols on.

Soon it looked like the enemy was about to win, so thinking quickly Sakura pulled out a kunai and threw it at the foreign ninja's back. She meant to aim for his spine, but she instead hit the back of his neck. He jerked and grew rigid before the Inuzuka managed to land a lethal blow.

'Did I just kill someone?' Sakura asked herself, starting to breath heavily. 'I did. I'm a murderer.'

"Thanks for your help." The Inuzuka called out.

Sakura stepped forward. "Don't thank me, I'm a murderer." She sounded like she expected to have her head chopped off for this.

The Inuzuka shook his head. "Do you know what the difference is between a shinobi and a true murderer?" Sakura, confused, shook her head negatively. "Shinobi kill because it's required of them and know why it must be done. Murderers kill because they enjoy it and don't need a reason beyond that. You didn't enjoy it, so you're not a murderer."

"But I just killed a man."

"This must be your first kill. It's always hard on us. My first kill haunted me for at least a week. But let's talk later. Can you look after my son while I go check for more threats?" Sakura nodded. "Thanks. If you need to talk about this, contact me when this is over. I'll be glad to help you get thru this. For now, you don't have time to be hesitant." He then left.

With some hesitation, Sakura pulled her kunai out of the fallen ninja's neck and went to Kiba's room. 'So that guy was Kiba's father? He's not what I expected at all.' She opened the door and saw Kiba putting his shoes on. "Kiba, someone's attacking the village. If you can fight come with me to the stadium."

"I'm on it." He said as he stood up and Akamaru jumped on his head. Both genin then ran back towards the fight.

'I sure hope I can do this.' Both thought.

* * *

A few Konoha jounin landed behind Kurenai, Kabuto, and Anko, but those three had finished their genjutsu so they were able to turn around and face their opposition. Standing before them were Tsume, Ibiki, and Asuma, looking ready for a fight.

Kabuto smirked. "A little small for a fight to be here wouldn't you say?" He then jumped away.

Anko and Kurenai were about to follow, but shuriken from Ibiki stopped them momentarily. "You two aren't going anywhere! Tsume-san, go track the runaway."

The Inuzuka matriarch and her partner Kuromaru went after Kabuto. Ibiki half-expected to see some small amount of concern on the two women's faces now, but they showed none, just confident grins. As if they had planned for Kabuto to draw one of them away.

Anko and Kurenai rushed forward to fight the two men. Anko took Ibiki as her target, and Kurenai took Asuma.

* * *

The Oto and Suna genin teamed up and branched out, each sticking to their own teams to maximize effectiveness. Their sensei's had already told them to act without supervision here and follow five orders: Stop as many Konoha shinobi as possible, use lethal force only if necessary, don't drag civilians into it if possible, don't reveal anything about Oto, and retreat immediately upon command. Naruto, Fuu, and Gaara were given one extra command: Feel free to use the bijuu chakra if needed.

Naruto, Hinata, and Isaribi stayed near the stadium, waiting to take part in something Orochimaru had planned for later.

"Naruto, I will have need of you in my ultimate plan to destroy the old man and completely demoralize this wretched village. Fight with your teammates at first but keep yourself braced for when I call you. Do as I say and victory will be all but assured." The snake sannin had told the disguised jinchuuriki the day before he left for the chuunin exams.

So now, Naruto fought beside two of his girls ready to take down the old man that had set up his life for misery and the village that went along like a dog on a leash. Hinata fought with him to get back at the family she had nothing but bad memories of and knew beyond all doubt what they would do if they succeeded in what they planned for her or, heaven forbid, if they found out she had a sister. Isaribi fought because she knew someone in Konoha named Danzou had made it possible for Amachi to kill her parents and turn her into a lab rat and the man had many supporters who tried to shift all slander at him onto Orochimaru, who was now viewed as the symbol of treachery in Konoha thanks to propaganda.

As far as Konoha was concerned, Orochimaru had turned traitor and had burned down everything he created to avoid any paper trail and destroy any evidence. But the 'noble' Sarutobi had caught him in an attempt to escape and the only reason he failed to stop the snake sannin was the two 'demon' children Orochimaru watched over tried to kill the old man, forcing him to kill a young Naruto and Anko in the process and thus saving Konoha from the kyuubi once and for all. Sarutobi told people that the two children were already dead, but most people thought he really meant 'as good as dead when he got there'.

Danzou had turned this into an opportunity for himself. The truth was that he had stolen funds from the R&D department by convincing Orochimaru that these funds would go to testing new ninja possibilities, but all they went to were funds for ROOT and the start of the Curse Seal. Orochimaru managed to stop Danzou from gaining anything from Amachi, but the warhawk had plans of his own. He told everyone that Orochimaru had been the one behind the inhumane testing and the creation of a seal that would threaten a ninja's sense of loyalty and morality. Danzou took credit for finding it by providing a few forged documents between the two, edited to say that Orochimaru had stolen members of his disbanded ROOT and even their families to experiment on, while Danzou himself was told that they were simply being deprogrammed to reintegrate into normal shinobi again. Thanks to this lie and generated sympathy from it, Danzou had been made the new head of R&D and then later also Uchiha clan representative when that clan had been destroyed.

Subsonic had informed the sannin of this. Because of this, Danzou became as much a target in this invasion as Sarutobi had been. They had to settle for striking Sarutobi first because he would be the easier to get to. So their armies were instructed to go after Danzou and take down anyone in their way. In a manner of speaking, this invasion was being done for three reasons. One, to remove Sarutobi from office since he had abused his power and attempted to do things he had no business in doing. Two, to eliminate Danzou before he rallied enough support to pose a serious threat to Oto. And three, to humble the foolish population, both shinobi and civilian, for allowing their biases to cloud their judgment in certain regards or in some cases dominate it.

At the moment that was unimportant; all the three genin could think about was surviving here and kicking some Leaf ass. And as expected, the first group to come their direction in this chaos was composed of Hyuuga.

"They just don't learn do they?" Hinata snidely commented to her friends.

"You're coming with us traitor!" One of the Hyuuga demanded. "Cooperate, and you may be able to see the light of day again."

Hinata scoffed and got into her stance. "How can I betray you when I was never a part of your clan in the first place?"

"Your cover story may have worked on everyone else, but we see thru it." A female Hyuuga said. "We checked the records for more than just the name you gave us. We found out that ten years ago a Hinata Hyuuga disappeared and was never seen again. If she was still alive, she'd be your age. We find you having her name and our eyes to be too much of a coincidence."

Naruto defensively stepped in front of Hinata. "Big deal. Whether you're right or not, it doesn't matter because you never raised her. You cannot make demands of her and never will."

"Then we're just going to have to kill her and you. No one gets away with thinking they can humiliate us!" An older Hyuuga with greying hair venomously decreed.

"I can." Naruto said, activating one of his bloodlines.

* * *

Dosu, Zaku, and Kin ran across the rooftops in an effort to lead some pursuing Konoha chuunin away from the stadium. They weren't having much luck, but thankfully Zaku was capable of running and attacking behind himself at the same time to keep them at bay a bit. Dosu and Kin had to avoid attacking in order to focus more on their surroundings.

"We need to get them off our asses." Kin told her teammates.

"You think we don't know that?" Dosu snapped at her.

"Do you have any suggestions or do you just want to be pissy Mr. Barfbag?" Kin snapped back, making Dosu practically growl in anger.

"Guys, I can't do this forever." Zaku stated impatiently.

The trio had to jump over a gap between two buildings. During the jump Kin twisted in the air and threw a few kunai at her pursuers. The throwing knives hit them all in their feet, exactly where she had been aiming for. This meant once they landed, they wouldn't be able to chase the Oto genin quite as effectively anymore until they remove the kunais. Even most experienced shinobi couldn't maneuver that well with pierced feet.

Most would say Kin was a genjutsu specialist, and to a point she was. But Kin's true specialty was in throwing weapons. She was practically the Oto equivalent of Tenten. Had she been serious in her fight against Shino in the preliminaries, he would have lost a lot of blood rather than get exposed to her genjutsu or gotten his hitai-ate torn.

Kin twisted around again to land facing forward and keep running. 'Thank you Naruto-kun for helping me here.'

-Flashback-

A ten year old Kin was in one of Oto's training grounds practicing her taijutsu on some posts. She tried her hardest to ignore the pain she felt from each hit and continued punching the wooden beam. After an especially hard one, she had to stop and grasp her hand, crying out now that she could no longer suppress the pain.

"Hey! You okay?" A boy's voice called out to her. Thru teary eyes Kin looked to see a boy with blonde hair heading towards her.

"I'm fine. Beat it. I can do this."

The boy noticed the way she held her right hand. "Can I at least see your hand?" Kin winced but held it forward for him to see. "That doesn't look good. I think you cracked a bone or two. Come with me so it can be healed."

Kin dropped her head and sighed as if defeated. "Fine. It's not like I'm getting any better anyway."

"What makes you say that?"

Kin glared at the newcomer. "Because I have nothing to help me! I'm not from a ninja family. My entire family is civilians and I wanted to be the first ninja in my family. But everyone says that my background means I can never become a good one since I have nothing from my family to help me out. No clan style, no kekkei genkai, no hidden secrets, I've got nothing and everyone says nothing is all I'll ever be."

"So?"

Kin blinked in surprise but still looked angry, albeit a little less now. "So? What do you mean?"

"It's obvious you don't believe them since you're out here practicing and trying to become stronger. So why do you care what they say? If you really believed all that nonsense, you wouldn't be training to be a ninja. You'd be at home with your parents learning what they do."

"Shut up." Kin bitterly said.

"I think you know those people are wrong. You're just saying what they're saying to make yourself feel better for not being as strong as you want to be." The boy added.

"Well sor-ry for not being privileged like you clan boy!" Kin spat.

"My name's Naruto and my family is dead." The blonde told her, making her drop her cynicism. "My birth family at least. The family I do have is made up of people who care about me but none of them are blood-related to me. I have nothing to learn from my parents either."

"I'm... I'm sorry for assuming things. I just thought those lines on your face were a clan trait."

"Don't sweat it. You're not the first to assume that, and you're probably not the only person I'll encounter who assumes they've got it worse than others." Naruto told her.

"Are you training to be a ninja too?" Kin asked. Naruto nodded. "How do you do it?"

"I have people to teach me so I don't learn on my own. Jii-san says being self-taught can only take you so far. They can't teach me everything they know, but they can teach me taijutsu, chakra control, and weaponry."

"Weaponry?" Kin asked.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. That's something you might do well in. Even a civilian can throw a knife and hit the mark. Try that rather than trying to break your hands on logs. Oh, you should still see a doctor about that too."

Kin looked at her hand momentarily, having forgotten the pain, then back at the blonde boy. "Would you help me? Could I learn from you?"

Naruto smiled. "Sure. I can't help everyday but I will help when I can... umm... what's your name?"

"Kin. Kin Tsuchi."

"Nice to meet you Kin-chan."

-End Flashback-

'Ever since that day, you've been the source of my strength.' Kin thought. 'You made me realize that even if I lack the advantages others have, it doesn't mean I have none at all. And now thanks to you, I've got better aim than a sniper. _That's_ my advantage.' Kin then looked behind herself to see the pursuing chuunin and looked at their feet. Coming to a stop, she performed two hand signs. "Illusion Art Blind Skin Jutsu."

Nobody saw anything different happen. "Kin babe what are you doing? We gotta get out of here!" Zaku said after he turned around to get her.

"I'm done." She said before pulling out some shuriken and throwing them at the Konoha ninja.

The pursuers, now free of the kunais in their feet, continued the chase. "You're fast, but your aim sucks."

'That's what I want you to think.' Kin thought with a smile as she threw a few senbon at them during the run.

* * *

Temari and Kankuro had been ordered by their sensei Baki to go cover Gaara while he helped eliminate the bulk of Konoha's gathering army. It had been decided beforehand that Gaara had the most responsibility out of the three jinchuuriki for one main reason. He was the only one among them that could use his bijuu's full potential. Neither Naruto or Fuu could use their demons like Gaara could and he had no problem with getting his hands dirty in a fight. Fuu's ability was really better suited to fighting one person at a time and given Naruto's time limits on his various kekkei genkai he would always need someone to cover him in between uses. Gaara however had no such restrictions and thus was allowed to fight however he desired.

It was fortunate Jiraiya had improved his seal and his sanity years ago, or everyone in the immediate area would be at risk for death then.

Temari and Kankuro were needed to allow Gaara to have enough time to build up his sand attacks properly. They would defend him while he readied himself to create a faux Shukaku to demoralize and crush Konoha. Right now they were running into the forest surrounding Konoha jumping thru the branches to avoid interference as much as possible, but they were still being followed.

"Wind Style Great Breakthrough!" Temari said as she swung her fan and generated a cluster of wind blades that flew forward. It didn't hit the Konoha forces, but it did damage the trees ahead of them making it harder for them to follow them now. That was what she had wanted anyway. The more delayed the enemy were, the more time the Suna Siblings had to ready themselves and get into more strategic positions.

Kankuro was currently unable to contribute much in the effort. Using his puppet would require more focus on the fight than the run so he would have to stop and face the group alone if he did fight. However he was able to throw some tagged kunai in the trees as he ran thru them to create additional obstacles too, but he was running out.

"Temari, I think I better stop here and fight directly. You go with Gaara to help him." The cloaked boy told his sister.

"What? No way Kankuro. The three of us always fight together."

"I wasn't asking." Kankuro said before coming to a stop and turned around, unwrapping his puppet Karasu. As he did, Temari and Gaara showed up on both sides.

"Neither was I." Temari proclaimed.

* * *

Haku, Fuu, and Sasame were running thru the streets. Their plan was simple and shared by several of their comrades. Divert Konoha's attention away from the stadium and cause damage within the city itself. Granted, this put themselves at risk, but they were at risk the minute they set foot in Konoha.

The three kunoichi had managed to get away unnoticed and hid in an alley. "Okay, what do we do?" Sasame asked.

"Fortunately we're not being chased right now. I think we've got time to plan out a trap or ambush." Fuu suggested.

"Got any ideas?" Haku asked.

"Give me a minute on that. I have one but I want to save that as a last resort, so I'm trying to think up another." The green-haired jinchuuriki answered.

"Think fast. We won't be unnoticed for long." Sasame claimed.

* * *

Sarutobi could barely believe what he saw. His three students stood before him looking at him like he was Hanzou back from the grave, Kushina glared at him as if he had been the one to kill Minato, and the kazekage gave him a cold unforgiving look, as if he believed the hokage deserved this. Surrounding them were four jounin-clothed shinobi in a rectangular formation creating some sort of box-like barrier around them that incinerated anyone who came in contact with it.

"Why are you doing this?" Sarutobi asked, hoping to get some understanding here.

"It's rather simple Sarutobi. You don't deserve to be in charge anymore, and since time won't get rid of you, we will. We hope that with you no longer in charge, Konoha will become what Minato died to preserve." Orochimaru answered.

"Save your breath Otokage-sama. He'll never accept what you're saying." Kushina stated.

'Otokage-sama? So Orochimaru is the true leader of the village? Is that what he's been doing all these years? And did Jiraiya know about it but refuse to inform me?' Sarutobi asked himself.

"True Kushina, but we might as well give him something to think about as he spends eternity in darkness." Orochimaru replied.

"Jiraiya, Tsunade, did you know this would happen?" The old man asked, already aware of their answer but wanting to hear the depth of their involvement.

"We know a lot more than that Sensei." Jiraiya said. "We know you lied to us about our godson. We know you told us what you did to keep us both away from him so our influence wouldn't conflict with what you had planned for him. We know you only allowed Orochimaru to watch over him because someone had to and you didn't want to make him suspicious by allowing a baby to go untreated. We also know you lied to us and the others in Konoha about Iwa as an excuse to hide Minato's son from the public."

Sarutobi looked a bit nervous. Kazekage stepped forward. "I also know you wanted my son to go crazy by hoping I'd drive him to the brink of insanity and he would destroy my village from the inside. As far as I'm concerned the peace treaty between our villages is null and void."

Tsunade cracked her knuckles. "Don't bother denying it Sensei. We've seen the documents and made copies of them all. We've also shared them with Suna and Iwa. We know all your secrets, but what we don't know... is why?"

"Why? WHY? You dare ask me why I do as I do? I'm your superior, you do not question my decisions, you follow them. I taught you that back when you three were bickering genins!"

Orochimaru frowned. "So you show no remorse for what you've done, only anger at being caught and forced to explain yourself."

"Don't act like you're any better than me. If you were you wouldn't be doing this invasion just to punish me. You wouldn't drag all of Konoha into it." Sarutobi replied.

Jiraiya smirked. "Who said you were the only one we had dirt on? The Leaf has gotten diseased under your leadership and it's time to trim the tree, and you're not the only branch we're going to clip off."

"You're just the first douchebag to go." Kushina said, her once violet eyes now red with slits thanks to her chakra capable of slightly mimicking that of the kyuubi.

"How are you even still alive Kushina?" Sarutobi asked loudly. "You were supposed to be dead thriteen years ago!"

"Supposed to be?" Kushina repeated, arching an eyebrow as she did. "My living is an inconvenience to you?"

"Oh course it is Kushina." Orochimaru told her. "Had you been able to care for Naruto, he wouldn't have been able to get away with doing anything to your son. People would have been more likely to believe he was a normal boy rather than a demon in human form and you would have been able to tell everyone who his father is. Sensei wouldn't have a chance at breaking Naruto's spirit and molding him as he saw fit."

'The one good thing about his reaction is that it shows he's not the one who held her in Wave. That had to be someone else.' Jiraiya thought.

"Are we going to just stand here talking about why we're here, or are we going to do what we came here to do?" Kazekage asked, sounding more than a bit impatient.

"You're right Kazekage-sama, no more wasting time." Tsunade said.

* * *

Kakashi had been fighting ever since he heard the command from Sarutobi, and so far had beaten twelve enemy nin, not focusing too much on where they came from. 'I may not have Obito's sharingan anymore, but I'm not powerless. I did learn a few skills before I got it after all.'

"That's eleven for me Kakashi. Looks like I'm winning." Gai said in his usual upbeat way.

Kakashi threw a kunai at an approaching Oto nin. "That makes thirteen for me."

Gai balled his fist and cried a waterfall. "Curse you and your coolness Kakashi."

"Not now Gai, get to business."

Sakura and Kiba ran up to their sensei. "Kakashi-sensei, what should we do?"

"Gather your friends and anyone who can't fight and head somewhere safe."

"What? You want us to turn tail and run?" Kiba asked, ready to refuse such an order.

"Yes, I do. We're not fighting a group of academy students or even genin here; we're fighting an army. An army that has been preparing for this. You two are in no shape to get involved here. If one of your comrades were in danger or being reckless, that would be one thing, but that's not happening so I'm ordering you to get out of the warzone. Sakura, you don't have the skills needed to fight in a war yet and Kiba, you've just been thru a serious fight with one of their genin. How strong do you think their jounin are?"

Sakura looked ashamed, as if she was supposed to be strong enough to fight but aware she couldn't. Kiba looked irritated, like he was being told not to do his favorite thing. Before they could say anything further, Kakashi had to turn away and fight a Suna nin. "GO! NOW!"

The two genin departed and ran out of the stadium. "Where are the others?" Kiba asked.

"I don't know. Use your nose. That will help us." Sakura said, sounding worried for her friends and home. "I'll go look for Sasuke-kun."

Kiba almost snarled. "We're under attack and he's STILL the only thing you can think about?"

Sakura shook her head. "He's the only one I have a good idea on where he might be. I don't know about the others so we need your nose to find them. We won't need it to find our teammate and see if he can help us."

Kiba wanted to argue, but he was noticing that as they were running Sakura was going towards Sasuke's residence and by conversing with him she was making him follow her. "Fine, but only because he's a teammate. If he's not there I'm not wasting more time focusing on just him."

"Thanks Kiba."

The Inuzuka managed to hide his confused look. 'I was actually expecting her to put up more of a fight then that. So why didn't she?'

* * *

"Striking Shadow Snakes!" Anko called out, sending six snakes at the head of Konoha's T&I department. Ibiki held up his arms and took the hit, allowing the snakes to bite his arms. 'There's only one reason why he'd do that. He must have developed some immunity to snake venom in his career. But that's not going to be enough to beat me.'

At the same time only a few dozen meters away, Kurenai was fighting the son of the third hokage. She had tried trapping him in her binding tree genjutsu but he swung his trench knives around and cleaved her kunai in half. 'He must be putting wind chakra into his weapons to make them sharper. I can't fight him close range, not that I need to.'

Hoping to buy themselves some brief time to think, the two kunoichi backed away from their male opponents and stood side by side. "Can you target them both while I try something?" Anko asked.

"Sure, but watch out for the smoker there. His weapons are sharper than normal." Kurenai responded.

"And the scarface there seems to be used to experiencing pain." Anko added before Ibiki and Asuma came closer and drew them back into the fight.

"Whatever it is you're planning, we're not going to give you the chance to finish." Asuma told them.

"You don't scare us!" Anko stated.

Asuma smirked. "You should be. I was one of the Twelve Guardians of the Fire Daimyo, and he's in charge of the group that specializes in making enemies break and give in." He pointed to Ibiki who had drawn out some senbon at this point.

"Whoop-dee-doo." Anko sarcastically replied. "You still don't scare me."

'Not only that, we've just learned a few things about them.' Kurenai thought. 'The bearded one must be a powerhouse but he probably works best with someone covering him too, and the trench coat guy's job has probably made him instinctively hold back on killing us in hopes of capturing us for later. If we get rid of him without getting caught in one of his traps, then the other guy may pull back or call for back-up. We can use that time to go help the others.'

Ibiki threw his senbon at Anko with a lot of force. The purple-haired kunoichi surprised him by taking the hit. The needles stuck thru her jacket but she acted like she felt nothing. Ibiki grew cautious. 'She may be capable of ignoring pain if it's too weak. I should try a heavier hit than striking pressure points.' He pulled out a few kunai and threw them as well. Anko swirled but looked unafraid. Ibiki noticed one of them hit her mesh shirt and deflected off. Mesh shirts were a simple form of defense but even they weren't that good. They hindered or weakened damage, they didn't prevent it entirely.

Asuma kept swinging his trench knives at Kurenai, who was backing away and doging each hit and holding some kunai in an effort to hit him first. His knives never touched her, but when they got close her outfit got a few rips. 'So he's using his chakra to extend their reach as well as sharpen them? That proves his area of expertise is in close range. Fighting him up close is bound to get me bruised and bloody. I need to slow him down.'

Anko made four hand signs then put her palms on the stadium roof. "Summoning Jutsu." from the puff of smoke emerged two snakes. "Kogyoku, I'm going to need your help here. Sango, go find otouto. He can't be far."

"Will do." Both snakes said before the purple one wrapped around Anko's shoulders and the orange one slithered away to find Naruto.

"A snake won't help you here. I'm immune to most venoms." Ibiki said.

"I could tell." Anko said back. "But I never said Kogyoku here was venomous." The purple snake launched off her summoner's torso and grew in size to match that of an anaconda. "She's a constrictor."

Kurenai meanwhile ducked low when Asuma did a sideswipe strike with his knives, low enough to temporarily be in his blind spot and punch him in his personal area. Asuma briefly winced and stepped back, but overall didn't look too affected by the hit. Kurenai noticed her hand felt like there had been more separating her hand and his body than just cloth. 'He was wearing a cup? Guess he's fought with kunoichi before a lot in the past.'

Asuma then threw one of his knives, and it hit Kurenai in the neck. She made several pained sounds of surprise, and tried to pull it out. While she did, he came up and thrust his other knife into her rib cage, destroying her organs. "Nothing personal, but I'm certain you would have done the same to me."

"How right you are." Kurenai said clearly, surprising him.

Before Asuma knew it, he felt the stone underneath him get softer and practically turn to mud then pull him down like quicksand. Kurenai then faded from view and he saw her arms reach out from behind him and told his previously thrown knife at his neck. "But how?"

"Illusion Art False Death Vision." Kurenai told him. In that brief time she couldn't be seen, she cast a genjutsu and applied it to Asuma in her below-the-belt punch, which was her true intention. This tricked the bearded smoker into thinking he got lucky and landed a lethal blow on the red-eyed kunoichi, but she grabbed his discarded weapon and moved behind him, applying another genjutsu to rid him of using his legs.

"You Oto nin sure are tougher than we gave you credit for." Asuma commented.

"Thanks, but you should never underestimate your enemy. This invasion is only just beginning."


	65. Invasion 2

Ch. 65 Invasion 2

"What did you do to piss this many people off Sarutobi?" Enma said once the hokage summoned him.

"I don't know, but I'm going to need your help old friend to fend them off." Sarutobi answered.

The monkey warrior grimaced but did not argue. "Very well Sarutobi, but this may be more than we can handle. We're not as young as we used to be."

"Maybe, but we're not dead yet."

"Emphasis on the 'yet' part." Kushina stated.

Before the invasion, it was decided that Orochimaru, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Kushina, and the Kazekage would be the ones facing down the Hokage while their armies looked for Danzou and kept Konoha's forces from interfering. The problem here was that having three sannin, a former jinchuuriki with jounin rank, and a kage facing Sarutobi was basically overkill, and they didn't want to kill him too quickly. Each one of them deserved to get a hit in here. Problem was... who first?

Fortunately they had that figured out before they came here.

Jiraiya and Tsunade stepped forward, or to be more precise they charged at their old instructor. Tsunade had her fist cocked and Jiraiya was performing a set of hand signs. Acting on pure instinct, Sarutobi and Enma dodged to their left, the side Tsunade was on, and Sarutobi pivoted to swing around behind her.

Enma transformed into his staff form and Sarutobi grabbed hold of it to hit Tsunade's head from behind. The impact affected her balance and momentum, but it didn't knock her out.

"Fire Style Toad Flare Bomb." Jiraiya called out before sending a wave of fire at his sensei." Without the toads to provide help here, it was considerably weaker, but it should still burn it's target.

Using his staff and his armor, which fortunately was fire-proof, Sarutobi was unscathed. "You're out of luck my wayward students. I taught you everything you know. You have no surprises for me."

All three sannin laughed. "What do you think we've been doing since the last time you saw us? Performing the same old moves over and over again?" Orochimaru asked before pulling out his sword Kusanagi. "We have new techniques, secret weapons, and we're much younger than you Sarutobi-sensei. Plus we outnumber you."

Sarutobi frowned and jumped onto a compartment nearby that elevated him higher than those around him. "Maybe, but there's a reason I'm Hokage. You don't know all my moves either."

"Well let's see who's got the best tricks up their sleeves then shall we?" Kushina venomously asked, reaching for something hidden behind her.

* * *

Kurenai was holding one of Asuma's dropped weapons to his neck from behind, when he suddenly disappeared and was replaced by a log. She backed away and looked for any signs of explosive tags attached to it. Fortunately there were none, but she couldn't see Asuma anywhere on the rooftop. 'He's either planning an ambush or going for back-up, maybe both. I better go help Anko-chan while I have a free moment.'

Anko's summoned snake Kogyoku had managed to constrict herself around Ibiki, and looked ready to bite him. The scarred man could see small drops of clear liquid on the large purple snake's fangs. "Wait, I thought you said this snake was a constrictor."

Anko deviously chuckled. "I did."

"But that means it can't be venomous." Ibiki added.

Anko shook her head. "Wrong. I told you I never said Kogyoku was venomous. What you didn't realize is I also never said she _wasn't_."

"A venomous constrictor? Impossible!" Ibiki said, starting to feel a bit afraid.

"Summons are a little loose with the rules of biology." Anko stated.

Kurenai stood beside her friend. "Anything I can do?"

Anko shrugged. "Not sure, probably won't have to. Kogyoku, I think we've scared Konoha's big bad mind-fucker enough. Give him a taste of what you've got."

"With pleasure." The snake said, arching her head back. She lunged forward to bite the scarred man's right collar bone area. However, there was a puff of smoke and Kogyoku ended up sinking her fangs into Kurenai.

Anko dropped her jaw while the genjutsu expert screamed in pain. Out of the control of her eye she saw a black trenchcoat and blocked a kunai attack. "You bastard! You substituted yourself with my friend!"

"Like you wouldn't have done the same had the situation been reversed!" Ibiki countered, continuing his assault. Anko mostly blocked but did throw a few hits back. "You're just mad you didn't think of it first."

Kogyoku withdrew her fangs and stopped constricting around the now-victimized kunoichi. "My deepest apologies Yuuhi-san. That was not for you."

"I don't blame you Kogyoku." Kurenai said, trying to withstand the pain and cover up her wounds. The bite left two nasty looking holes on her collarbone area.

Anko looked at her injured friend, trying not to be be distracted from her fight with Ibiki. The scarred man was getting a few good swings at her, and it was only thanks to her special mesh she was unscathed so far. Both she and Naruto wore mesh lining that used the shedded skin of Kogyoku and Sango. Naruto even had some sewn into his orange jumpsuit, meaning he wore it for defense rather than stealth. As their names implied, Kogyoku and Sango had hard armor-like scales, something a simple kunai could not damage.

Reaching into her pocket, Anko threw something towards Kurenai. "Kurenai, catch!" The red-eyed hounin caught it and saw she now held a capped syringe. "I always carry antivenom for my snakes in case they bite someone innocent. Use it now!"

"Thanks Anko-chan." She quietly said before uncapping the syringe and injecting herself with the antivenom. Right away she felt a strange tingle in her wound and looked at it as best she could given its location. 'This must have some healing properties to remove the wounds too. Must have been created by Tsunade-sama.'

"Are you better?" Kogyoku asked.

"I'm getting there. Go help her out."

The snake nodded. "Okay, I just wanted to make sure you'd survive first. I'd hate to kill one of Anko's friends by mistake." She then slithered away.

Ibiki saw the approaching serpent and threw one of his kunai at it. Thanks to her crystal-hard scales, the weapon bounced harmlessly off her. Luckily for him, this time the snake seemed apprehensive about striking him in case he substituted with someone else again. Anko however didn't seem as restricted and kept trying to cut him open.

A kunai was thrown from the sidelines and only her quick reflexes saved Anko from being hit. Kogyoku wasn't as lucky and got grazed, but the spot that was hit was torn and bled. Anko checked her favorite summons. "Kogyoku, you're bleeding. How is that possible?"

Asuma showed up next to Ibiki holding a sword with wind chakra in it and with a dozen members of the T&I department backing him up. "You've got no chance to win or escape now." He declared.

Anko glared then smirked. "We're not done yet." She then summoned a gigantic three-headed snake. "Go crazy, have some fun." She told it, and the hydra happily obliged.

"Anko, I don't feel so good. "Kurenai said, her vision getting blurry while she got sweaty. Then she collapsed on her left side.

"Kurenai!"

* * *

Naruto, Hinata, and Isaribi were holding their own against the swarming Hyuuga, struggling to fight multiple opponents. Some of them did attack Hinata right away but it looked like most of them were trying to get Naruto and Isaribi out of the way first.

Isaribi probably surprised them the most by showing she could fight outside of water. From what they saw in the finals and heard in the preliminaries from Neji, they have expected her to pratically be a fish out of water right then. What they didn't realize was that Assaiotaki was designed to work in and out of water, just better in water.

"Tactic Seven Squid Bite." Isaribi said as she threw a net of monowire at some of the advancing Hyuuga. Most escaped but two did not and got ensnared in it quickly, thinking they could easily break out of it. The net quickly wrapped around them both, binding them back to back and throwing them off balance and onto the ground. Like this their hands weren't in a good enough place to cut thru the wire easily, but they could cut a few strands. Isaribi knew this and moved forward to hit them both with her kunai, driving them in rather than just cutting them up. Had they been underwater she also would have been able to trap them there until they drowned.

"Five Trigrams Protective Blade Dance." Hinata said as she formed two long blade of chakra on her hands and swung her arms around quickly to keep all attackers away from her and keep her outside the range of their juuken. (AN: It's basically the Protective Eight Trigrams technique just renamed) And since the Hyuuga rarely kept weapons on themselves, they had little chance of getting close to her. Those that did have weapons tried using them but they were repelled by her fast flexible arms.

At the same time, Naruto was irritating them to new levels. He was currently using his Ghost Body kekkei genkai to make all their attacks useless as well as be difficult to see to their eyes. Nothing could unsettle a Hyuuga more than having something mess up their vision like his Ghost Body does. "Ghost Art: Phantom Claws of Decay." He said before creating a set of chakra arms that passed thru all the Hyuuga around him, removing their ability to produce chakra and thus use any of their fighting methods.

After a while it looked like the Hyuuga were stepping back to avoid further injuries. Naruto, Hinata, and Isaribi got closer, holding their ground and looking ready for more. Hinata had dropped her Protective Blade Dance, but was ready to bring it back in a heartbeat.

Out of the gathered Hyuuga, two stepped forward. Hinata recognized one of them as Neji, but the older one she didn't recognize right away but felt she should have. "Enough of this senseless fighting, all of you." He said, as much to the Oto genin as his own clan. He then looked directly at Hinata. "Are you Hinata Hibiki?"

"It's about time one of you calls me by my real name." She replied.

"By chance, is your mother named Hitomi?"

Hinata glared. "That's none of your business."

"I only ask because if it's true, then you're my niece." He told her. "You may not remember me, but I'm Hizashi, your father Hiashi's brother."

'Oh yeah, this was the guy who was with the hokage when they asked for our cover story.' Hinata thought. "So? What does that matter to me?"

Hizashi sighed, sounding a bit sad. "Before anything else happens, I just feel you should know... your father is no longer with us."

Hinata showed no reaction. "He's dead?"

Hizashi nodded. "He killed himself, unable to cope with the loss of his wife and two daughters. Had he known you were still alive, he might have found the will to live on."

'Okaa-san's not going to like hearing that. She's never said a word about that to me or Hanabi so I doubt she already knows this.' Hinata thought. "And you're telling me this... why?"

Hizashi looked confused, as did several other Hyuuga. "I just thought you should at least know about your father so you can properly mourn him."

Hinata scoffed. "I don't even remember my father's face. I'm not wasting a tear on mourning him."

Neji glared. "You heartless bitch." He couldn't imagine why anyone would not mourn the passing of a parent, givien how close he once was to losing his own.

"Like I care what a clan of child-beaters has to say." Hinata replied, surprising the surrounding Hyuuga. "Why do you think I never came back to this place? I refuse to live with a so-called 'family' that beats up and enslaves its own for an ego trip disguised as training or a safety measure, or in a village that lets them hide behind clan privileges to do as they please. I'll die before I go back to you."

"Wish granted." One of the Hyuuga said, ready to aim for her heart right then while she was unfocused.

* * *

"I don't know about you guys, but I can't keep running forever." Dosu told his teammates.

"We won't have to. These guys should be slowing down soon enough." Kin replied.

"Then why aren't they?" Zaku asked, irritably.

Kin frowned. "I said soon enough, not right away. Give it some time. The more they run, the sooner it will happen."

The three genin noticed out of the corner of their eyes someone new approaching them quickly. Kin turned and got ready to throw a few shuriken before she saw who it was. "Kabuto-sensei? What are you doing here?"

"Same thing you are, running from a chaser." The spectacled jounin answered, pointing his thumb behind him to indicate Tsume and Kuromaru.

"Can you help us out here Sensei? My legs are getting tired." Zaku pleaded.

"Certainly, but that means more stamina training back home." Kabuto said in a joking manner, making Zaku groan.

The four Oto nin came to a stop on a building close to Konoha's southeast wall. The pursuing Konoha nin came to a stop too, creating a stand off between the two groups.

"Wise move to admit defeat." One of the Konoha nin stated.

Tsume looked over at the others. "Kami-sama, you're all bleeding so heavily."

"What are you talking about?" Another Konoha shinobi asked before feeling around his body. "I'm not ble-" He stopped when he felt several kunai sticking out of him and some warm liquid around the apparent wounds too. The others checked too and saw they all had no less than six weapons lodged in their flesh and losing a lot of blood from them. "How could this have happened?"

Kin smirked. 'That was me and my Blind Skin genjutsu. It took away your ability to recognize you were being hurt and made you unable to feel any pain. As far as you were concerned, I kept missing because you couldn't feel my weapons hit their mark. But I hit you every time, you just didn't feel it. And now that you've noticed, all that pain you've been blinded too, combined with the bloodloss you've endured thanks to all that running around, should hit you right... about... NOW!'

As if on cue, the wounded ninja suddenly felt the effects of Kin's genjutsu wear off, and the accumulated sensations of pain and lightheadedness kicked in all in one instant. Being experienced shinboi, they didn't scream or make a fuss, but they did wince and lose the ability to stand up and move around much anymore. Unless they were taken to a medic, they'd all die of copious blood loss within thirty minutes tops.

Tsume growled at the Oto nin. Seeing comrades near death was always a good way to get an Inuzuka mad, even if they didn't know the comrades that well. Being a fighter rather than a healer, Tsume chose to attack the Oto nin rather than get the fallen shinobi to safety. The three genin got out of the way but Kabuto remained in her line of attack. At the last second he swerved to avoid being hit and then touched her arm with his chakra scalpel.

Tsume winced in surprise as she felt a few tendons being severed inside her arm. Kuromaru was able to bite down on Kabuto's left calf while he was occupied. Dosu ran up to the large dog. "Melody Gauntlet Ultra High Pitch Screech." His weapon now emitted a sound that was so high pitched only dogs could hear it, and it was at point-blank range.

Kuromaru howled in agony, feeling like his ears were about to explode. All he could do right then was run away, even if it meant ditching Tsume. He hated doing that, but his ears currently didn't care about loyalty. So the black wolf-like canine darted away as fast as he could.

Tsume saw all this and could not fault her partner for doing that. She backed away from Kabuto, rubbing her right upper arm where he struck her. She felt no external wound, but she was certain the ligament was cut. 'I sure hope there's no internal bleeding, or I'm screwed. I better try one move to see if I can take them down then get to an available medic right away to check the damage.'

"Decapitating Airwaves!" Zaku shouted as he attacked the Inuzuka matriarch.

"Piercing Fang!" Tsume replied before spinning around like a cyclone missile. Thankfully Zaku was worn out from repeated attacks earlier so she was able to brush off his attack like this and continue her own. Zaku was surprised to see his attack do nothing and unfortunately he couldn't react in time and got hit by Tsume's attack head on. He screamed in pain as the cyclone attack tore into him, the only thing keeping him from dying right away was the fact his attack had slowed her down a little.

Tsume then went pass Zaku and disappeared out of sight. Zaku collapsed on his back in agony. His team members came up to see how he was doing. Kabuto looked him over immediately. "Intensive trauma on his internal abdominal region, tearing of the skin, multiple fractures, and I think internal bleeding. We can't move you so I"m going to have to treat you here. Kin, Dosu, stand guard."

"Yes Sensei." The two said before taking defensive positions around their wounded teammate.

* * *

Outside the purple barrier atop one of the roofs, a few Anbu tried to get thru and help the hokage. they found they could not and would only incinerate upon contact with the barrier. Apparently attacking the four Oto nin creating the barrier didn't work as the barrier extended to cover them too.

Inside the barrier, Sarutobi found himself having a hard but not one-sided fight. Tsunade and Jiraiya kept attacking him, although he noted Jiraiya appeared to be pulling his punches a little. Kushina got involved, and to his horror, she had a dark sword in hand. Meanwhile, Orochimaru and the Kazekage stood back and watched.

'They're not watching, they're getting ready for something. I can see Kazekage's gold dust swirling around, but I can't see what he's doing with it. Tsunade and Kushina are the only ones actually trying to kill me, but I think Jiraiya's trying to keep me from interfering in whatever the other's are doing.' Sarutobi analyzed. Kushina's sword came much too close for his liking and it was only thanks to Enma's staff form he wasn't cut by her. "Is that the sword I think it is?" He asked.

"You'd think I'd try to kill you with just any sword?" Kushina angrily asked back.

Sarutobi backed away, grabbed a few of the broken tiles on the roof, and threw them like shuriken. Heknew it was a weak attack, but hopefully he would hit a vulnerable spot. Tsunade hit them all away with her fists and Kushina used her sword to cut them in half. From behind Jiraiya threw two kunai aimed at the back of Sarutobi's knees. Sarutobi shifted his legs and received only small cuts.

'I can't hold out much longer fighting multiple skilled vengeful opponents. I better bring out one of my trump cards.' The old man told himself. "Enma, we're going to have to use one of the big ones."

Enma turned back into his normal form and kicked Jiraiya to keep some distance from him. "You certain about that Hiruzen?"

"We're not going to last much longer without it." The Sandaime replied, already starting the hand signs and then placing his palms on the roof. "Earth Style Army of Mountain Apes." From the roof emerged a dozen stone statues that looked like small gorillas. Small meaning they weren't life-sized, only half-sized. Right away the constructs tried to swarm everyone around them except Sarutobi and Enma.

'Damn, my sword's useless against these things.' Kushina said as she avoided one of the apes and sheathed her signature weapon. One almost got her from behind, but Tsunade covered her by hitting it hard enough to make it shatter. "Thanks Tsunade-sama."

"No sweat Kushina-chan, although I get the feeling..." The slug sannin paused to take out another one. "...that I'm going to be the one to handle this part the most."

"No you won't." Kushina said, thrusting her right arm out and using her chakra chain to wrap around three gorilla statues before pulling it and cleaving them.

'This doesn't make sense.' Jiraiya though, also breaking a few ape golems with weaker but well-placed kicks. 'Sensei must know we can destroy these things. What's his angle?'

"Gold Coffin." Kazekage said, using some of his gold dust like how his son uses his sand. With it he trapped one stone gorilla. "Gold Burial." The trap tightened until the sound of shattering rock could be heard.

Orochimaru jumped over one attacking statue and turned in mid-air behind it. "Lightning Style Storm Viper Jutsu." A lightning bolt in the shape of a snake shot out from his hands and struck the automaton he had aimed at, then bounced off it to strike one more target. Both hits destroyed the top half of the stone apes.

Tsunade got the last one. "Give it up Sensei, you're outnumbered and too old to fight us all."

"Maybe, but I'm not alone either." He told her. "Before I do more, I must ask, why are you against me?"

"I can sum it up in one word." Orochimaru stated. "Naruto."

"Naruto?" Sarutobi asked, remembering the blonde from the last time he saw him, ten years ago.

"Indeed Sensei." The snake sannin responded. "You lied to me, you lied to my teammates, you lied to Konoha, you lied to Kazekage-sama, you've lied to us all and we're _very_ angry about it. Tell us why, and we may go easy on you."

Sarutobi frowned. "So that's what this is all about? You don't like the decisions I made to ensure peace for this village so you're going to bring war to it?"

"Peace? Who are you to speak of peace?" Kushina bitterly asked.

"I did what I could, even if it meant getting dirty. But enough of this. Earth Style Kong Conglomerate Jutsu." The old man said, sounding angry and wanting this to be finished. When he finished, all the broken pieces used to make his ape army rose into the air and gathered in one point. When they got there they were rearranged and reshaped, and soon created an earthen gorilla about half the size of Gamabunta.

Sarutobi jumped to get on top it, and Enma followed. "Like it? I used this a few times back in the war. The first jutsu gets a few hits in while it lasts but when the stone apes are destroyed, this one can be created from the rubble with only a fraction of the chakra needed if I did it without the first."

'A layered jutsu strategy, good one Sensei.' Orochimaru told him.

'Damn, with that thing here there's no room for our summons. At least we don't need them.' Tsunade thought.

"Orochimaru, is it time?" Jiraiya asked.

"Oh yes, it's time. Kazekage-sama, if you will."

The Suna leader controlled his gold dust, revealing that all this time he had been carving a hole in the rooftop for them to reach down into. But instead of having a person go into it, his gold dust did and pulled up something, an old man around Sarutobi's age in a chair.

"Thank you for your sacrifice Satoru-san." Kazekage told the old man.

"It's the least I can do. This way I'll die with value." The man in the chair said.

"Jiraiya, go get Naruto now." Orochimaru told his teammate.

'What the heck are they planning?' Sarutobi asked himself.

* * *

Temari had her fan fully opened, Kankuro had his Karasu armed and dangerous, and Gaara had his sand ready and thirsty for blood. In front of them stood a cluster of Konoha jounin, numbering close to twenty-two by Temari's count.

"Wind Style Great Breakthrough!" Temari shouted, swinging her fan. When ambushed like this she often was the first to attack. It was part of a favored strategy the Suna Siblings had. The wind attack sent several of the jounin out of the trees but most of them used their chakra to reinforce their hold on the branches.

When the attack ended, the remaining jounin threw a few tagged kunai at the trio. Gaara's sand reacted to shield all three of them from the blasts. Kankuro looked down to see those that fell out of the tree seconds ago landed safely and were coming up the tree they were standing in. Acting swiftly, he sent Karasu down to shoot poison-tipped senbon at them to slow them down if not stop them.

Gaara's sand formed a Shukaku claw and tried to swat away most of the Konoha nin. Two felt the blow but ten escaped. "Fire Style Fireball Jutsu" Five of them said simultaneously, trying to turn Gaara's sand to glass. He retracted his sand before they could and jumped to the tree behind him to avoid the more direct flames.

Temari and Kankuro had to move too once they saw their tree was on fire. Temari went down to the ground to take care of the ninja there, and Kankuro went higher up for cover while Karasu fought below him. Temari's wind kept most approachers from getting too close as well and alter the landscape little by little, making them have to take new positions each time. Karasu kept surprising the Konoha nin with the revelation of extra arms and hidden blades, all equipped with poison that had already affected three of the jounin. And Gaara's sand killed everyone it touched, turning them into a bloodly pulp.

'Something's not right. This is too easy.' Gaara thought as he claimed his fourth victim. 'It's like they're trying to survive but not win here.' His eyes widened. "Kankuro, Temari, let's get out of here."

The two did not freeze, but they were concerned. Gaara never insisted they desert a fight. "What's wrong?" Kankuro asked before moving his position.

"They've got to be trying to delay us. They're keeping us busy as they plan for something." The redhead boy explained, having to kill another man.

"Smart boy." A man's voice called out.

Temari tried to jump once she heard that, but her body froze. She struggled to look down, and saw a shadow was attached to her own. 'What the fuck?' Looking to where the shadow came from, she saw Shikaku Nara.

"Shadow Possession Jutsu Success."

Inoichi Yamanaka appeared next to a Konoha nin clutching his bleeding side. "Thank you for your assistance. We'll take it from here."

Chouza Akimichi became his giant size and grabbed ahold of Karasu. Kankuro panicked and tried to get his puppet to cut the man's large hands, but it didn't work. His skin was too hard. And to make matters worse, Chouza's other hand came very close to crushing him too. Kankuro got away and landed by his sister's side.

Gaara showed up beside them too. "You will not hurt those precious to me."

"And you will not succeed in destroying our home." Shikaku said, extending his shadow to ensnare the other two. Kankuro got away, but Gaara made no effort to move.

"Mind Possession Jutsu." Inoichi said, aiming his attack at Gaara.

* * *

"Anytime now Fuu-chan would be good." Sasame said as some Anbu found their hiding spot and jumped to land in front of them, trying to hold them in place. There were three, wearing masks like a cat, pig, and crow. Sasame pulled out a wakizashi and Haku pulled out some kunais.

Fuu opened her eyes and stared fearlessly at the approaching Anbu. "I wouldn't attack us if I were you."

"Oh yeah? And why not?" The cat-masked one challenged.

Using Shichibi's chakra, Fuu ripped a brick out of the building behind her. She showed it to the Anbu, where a paper bomb with a wire attached to it was clear to see. "Because there's a trap in the area. Attack us, and I trigger this bomb and all other bombs attached to it."

'It's a good thing we were informed on where a few of those were by Hinata-san in case we needed to use any.' Haku thought.

The crow Anbu in particular stiffened. "How do you know about the layout?"

"You must be a Hyuuga to know about the huge paper bomb network that runs thru Konoha." Fuu replied, confusing all the other Anbu. "Oh you guys didn't know. Someone rigged this entire village to explode if so much as a kunai hit the wrong spot. A spot like this one. The Hokage knows about it, but hasn't done a damn thing about it except have the Hyuuga ensure it's untouched."

The Anbu look at the crow-masked one. "It's just a contingency plan that's all. Some carpenter set up up long ago but we stopped him from setting it off. Hokage-sama felt it best to keep it in place in the event Konoha was likely to be taken over. That way we could destroy the enemy with us."

I guess you never planned for what to do if the enemy beat you to it." Fuu commented, then held a kunai close to the bomb. "All I have to do is strike this and your village goes bye-bye."

"You're bluffing." The pig Anbu said.

Fuu snickered. "If I am, then why is your friend there so nervous? He's aware of the situation, you tell me if I'm bluffing."

'Fuu-chan you better know what you're doing. I'd rather not die here.' Haku and Sasame thought.

The cat Anbu moved quickly, pulling out her sword and severing the wire attached to the bomb. "There, now your threat is useless."

"But we're not." Haku said, throwing her kunai. The cat Anbu deflected them and came up closer. Haku couldn't form any jutsu or reach for her weapons so the Anbu managed to grab her, pin her to the wall, and hold her sword against the back of Haku's neck. 'She's fast. Almost as fast as me.'

"Haku-chan!" Sasame yelled, starting a set of hand signs. Before she could start the second one, the Hyuuga Anbu member came up to her and assaulted her with the 64 palms maneuver, Sasame fell to her knees and to add insult to injury he stomped his foot on her back to pin her behind him.

The pig-masked Anbu pulled out a few chakra restraining seals and threw them at Fuu, but they burned up before hitting her. "What the hell?"

Fuu glared at him, her eyes yellow and her body covered in red chakra.

* * *

Sasuke poured himself a glass of tomato juice, trying to ignore the commotion going on outside his apartment. "Must be some sort of celebration for everyone who's advancing. Dammit, that should be me." He said out loud, for no particular reason.

"And why should it be?" A new voice said from behind him.

Defensive, and even a bit spooked, Sasuke spun around to see the intruder. He momentarily cursed the fact that he didn't have any gear on him at that moment.

Seated on the open windowsill was Subsonic, looking rather casual, but still wearing their ninja gear, mask, and hood to hide any and all identifying characteristics. Even the voice was muffled to be hard to distinguish.

"What are you doing here in my house?" Sasuke angrily asked.

"I just came to see what you were going to do about your village being attacked."

Sasuke raised a eyebrow. "Konoha's under attack?"

"Indeed, and by my superiors. What are you going to do about?" Subsonic replied, sounding like they were both challenging him and asking him out of curiosity.

Sasuke shrugged. "Why should I do anything? Konoha used me so why should I volunteer to risk my life for them?"

Subsonic frowned. "Because once you became a ninja you swore to aid Konoha in good times and bad and do whatever it took to uphold the Will of Fire and your home."

"So?" Sasuke asked. "I owe them nothing."

"It's not a matter of owing. It's a matter of loyalty to your home and what it stands for. People outside are dying and you can look me in the eyes and tell me you don't care even a little?" Subsonic asked.

"If it were my clan out there suf-" Sasuke started, but was cut off by a kunai almost hitting his toes before he even knew it had been thrown.

"Enough with your Uchiha's-are-the-only-ones-who-matter complex. I'm sick to death of hearing it." Subsonic told him, irritation flooding their voice.

Sasuke glared. "You break into my home, try to order me around, and now you insult my clan? What the hell gives you the right to look down on me?"

"I do it for the same reason you do it to everyone else." Subsonic answered. "Wait, that's not entirely true. I do it because I don't respect you. You do it because you don't respect others too, but you also think you're superior to all other carbon-based lifeforms simply because you were born with a fancy name. Maybe you've never realized this Sasuke, but Uchiha does not translate as Kami."

"Get out." Sasuke said, in no mood to hear more disrespect.

Subsonic stood up and looked defiant. "Make me, big tough elite guy."

Sasuke glared and stood his ground, but did nothing. 'I don't have any weapons and using fire jutsu would just damage my home. All I have is taijutsu but it strangely doesn't look like this person actually came here for a fight.' "What do you want with me?" He asked.

"To be honest, I wanted to see what you'd do knowing Konoha and the people who know are in danger. I can't say I'm surprised to see you be so apathetic to this, but I can say I'm disappointed." Subsonic told him.

Sasuke scoffed. "Don't talk about me like you know me."

"Oh but I do Sasuke Uchiha. I've been watching many people in Konoha for years, waiting for this day. You're one of the many I took an interest in. I know you have a clinical superiority complex with a narcissistic desire for it to be reinforced by those around you. I know you were considered popular and talented by your classmates but they were misguided, mistakeningly believing that your brother was unable to kill you rather than he spared you. I know you're the type of person who wants something to fight against rather than something to fight for. And I know that deep down, your strongest desire is not to kill Itachi to avenge your clan."

Sasuke looked shocked and deeply offended at that last one. "How DARE you? I am an avenger! My entire life has been devoted to avenging my clan and killing Itachi!"

Subsonic shook their head. "No, it's not, and I can prove it."

Sasuke frowned. "Oh yeah? How?"

"Tell me Sasuke, whenever you picture yourself killing Itachi, exactly how do you see it happening?" Subsonic asked.

"That's simple. I face him and fight him until he dies."

Subsonic gave the young boy a flat look, which didn't have much effect with a mask on. "So you fight him head-on?"

"Yes."

"Giving him the chance to fight back?"

'What are they getting at?' Sasuke asked himself. "Yeah, so what?"

"That proves my point that your motives are wrong. You _do_ want to kill your brother, but you're not doing it for your clan. You're doing it for yourself."

Sasuke bared his teeth angrily. "What the hell makes you think that?"

"It's simple. When training, all you think about is getting strong enough to kill Itachi. I've heard you say that several times when you train. It's always 'I must get stronger, I must surpass Itachi'. Do you think Itachi's just been sitting on his ass this whole time, waiting for you to come kill him? He's been training too and he has years more experience ahead of you."

"That's why I must get stronger as fast as possible. Fast enough to surpass him." Sasuke interjected.

Subsonic crossed their arms. "Apparently the idea of killing him when his guard was down never crossed your mind. You claim you want him dead with every fiber of your being, and yet the idea that maybe you could get him when he sleeps, poison his food, wait until he exhausts himself fighting someone else, or even ambush him when he's on the toilet is something you refuse to consider. If you truly wanted revenge for your clan, you'd take _any_ chance you could to kill him and get it over with. But no, you want to face him in a head-on battle, where he knows you're there and can fight back."

"What's your point?" Sasuke asked, running out of patience.

"My point, Sasuke, is that proves what I claimed earlier. There's only one reason you would want to fight Itachi this way rather than kill him when it was easy. You want to see him fall before you and say you're stronger than he is. Even though you believe you're more important than anyone else in this village, the only person you admit is stronger than you is Itachi and you want to change that. You _want_ to hear him submit to your might after you defeat him. That proves that this quest of yours has absolutely nothing to do with avenging your clan. You're doing this to get an ego-boast and rid yourself of the one thing you feel threatened by."

Sasuke clenched his fists and looked like he was willing this unidentified person to burst into flames without any jutsu involved. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Who am I?" Subsonic repeated. "If you wanted to know all you had to do was ask young man."

With that, Subsonic removed their hood and mask.

_Final chance to guess who Subsonic is. Those that guess right will win the right to cast five write-in votes in the best author poll._


	66. Revealed

_First thing first in case anyone's confused, I never once gave any indication to what Subsonic's gender is. Look at earlier chapters and you'll see Subsonic has never once been referred to as a 'he' or 'she'._

Chapter 66: Revealed

When Subsonic first took off their mask, Sasuke didn't expect them to turn out to be someone he actually knew. If anything he just thought that this enemy was being stupid in giving away their identity like that. The smart choice would have been to keep their face and name hidden to keep up their anonymity.

But once the hood was off, Sasuke started thinking differently. There had to be a reason this masked ninja was so willing to show their face. They had to gain something by doing this, enough to make up for the fact that from now on they couldn't spy easily anymore since Sasuke would be able to identify them. With that in mind, Sasuke now got apprehensive.

Subsonic's hood and mask were off, revealing a woman's face with short black hair and a set of brown eyes behind blue glasses. After that Subsonic removed a vest which allowed her compressed breasts to relax and become more noticeable. The vest was mostly there to hold some supplies and trick people into thinking she was a man.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he recognized this person. "Mako Ichiba? You're a spy for another village?"

"Yep, I'm a spy. No one would suspect someone as insignificant as a mere eye doctor of being a spy. Luckily that job ensures every ninja in Konoha comes to me in time, especially those with doujutsu, so I barely even have to look for information. Of course I still do look."

Sasuke frowned. "So you're the one who told those music note ninja I had a doujutsu. You set me up to lose my sharingan."

Mako looked nonchalantly. "You're only half right. Yes I did tell the ninja of Oto you have a sharingan, but you did that too by flaunting your Uchiha name left and right. Ninja don't go bragging about themselves you idiot. You just make yourself a target that way. And yes, I did ask them to take away your sharingan, but I had no idea you and they were going to be in Wave at the same time. I figured you wouldn't lose it until later on it the future. That was just really good timing."

"It doesn't matter. My sharingan's gone and it's your fault." Sasuke said, grabbing a meat cleaver from a drawer.

"You may find this hard to believe Sasuke, but I didn't ask that to hurt you. I asked that to happen so it would help you."

"HELP ME? HOW IS MAKING ME LOSE MY SHARINGAN HELPING ME?" Sasuke shouted, looking like he was one minute away from chopping her up like a butcher.

Mako smiled. "Simple. Now you know what everyone really thinks of you and now you know not to take your own skills and status for granted anymore. Had you kept your sharingan, you would have continued to be the council's pampered bitch with delusions that they are on your short leash, rather than you on theirs."

Sasuke was still mad, but he settled down. 'As much as I hate to admit it, she does have a point.' "Even so, I will never forgive you for doing that."

"I don't expect you to Sasuke. In fact, I don't think I even deserve it."

Sasuke arched an eyebrow but smugly smiled. "At least you acknowledge your crime against me."

Mako now looked remorseful and a bit mad. "Sasuke, you have no idea what I'm talking about. I did something far worse than give some shinobi the idea to damage your eyes. Something that to this day makes me feel... ambivalent. There are days I still regret doing what I did, but other times I feel like I only would have made things worse had I done anything else. The same applies to how I feel about you personally Sasuke."

"I don't understand. Just why would you care about me at all if you're my enemy?" Sasuke asked.

"Because I don't want to be your enemy Sasuke, but at the same time, I can't stand what you've become."

"What's wrong with you? You're an enemy, plain and simple. That's all we need to know."

Mako shook her head. "Life isn't as absolute as you think it is Sasuke. But I guess there's only one way to prove it to you." She then took off her glasses and pulled out a set of brown contact lens in her eyes, showing her pupils were actually black in color. Then she removed her headband used to keep her hair up. Without it, her dark brown hair fell down to her waste.

All of a sudden, Sasuke recognized a face he had not seen in a long time except in his memories and photographs. "No, it can't be. This is impossible."

"It's true Sasuke. Mako Ichiba is just a fake name and identity for me. My true name... is Mikoto Uchiha, your mother."

"You can't be. Itachi killed her just like all the others." Sasuke came close to shouting. He performed a genjutsu release, only to see nothing changed.

The now-revealed Mikoto sadly shook her head. "I almost did die, but Itachi couldn't wound me as well as the others. I'm an expert at dodging Sasuke, nicknamed the Kami no Kawarimi for a reason. What you saw was me faking death to avoid taking any further damage. Itachi had too much to cover to ensure I was truly dead."

"You can't be my mother." Sasuke said, looking and sounding like he was about to break out in hysterical tears. "You would have come for me if you were."

"I wanted to, at first. But I couldn't. It's a long story as to why."

-Flashback-

Dazed and confused, Mikoto started to regain consciousness. 'Looks like my False Death Jutsu is wearing off, and it looks like it was enough to trick Itachi. For all basic purposes, I had no pulse, no breath, no warmth for two minutes, a perfect simulation of death. Too bad Sensei was right when she said the after-effects always make you feel like shit.' Right now she had a headache, cramping muscles, nauseous taste in her mouth, her eyes couldn't focus, and her legs wouldn't respond to her commands. She sort of felt like she had a hangover and slept in a bad position during the night.

"Hey, over here. We have a live one." Some man's voice called out from above Mikoto.

'For some reason, I don't like the sound of that.' Mikoto thought. She looked up and saw an Anbu agent standing over her, but this Anbu didn't feel normal to her. He was looking at her like she was a prize of some kind. Soon others showed up, and among them was a man with bandages on his face.

"My, this sure is surprising. I didn't think we'd find a live one tonight." The bandaged man said.

"What should we do Danzou-sama?" One of the Anbu asked, as if unprepared for encountering any survivors here.

'Are the others... are they all dead? Fugaku? Sasuke? Oh please Kami no!' Mikoto frantically thought.

"Take her away to the cells. Her eyes should theoretically be the best ones to use here, and if she can still bear children, we can ensure the Uchiha line will stay alive and I'll have prime access to the children." Danzou told the anbu.

'Like hell I'm staying here.' Mikoto thought, then performed a substitution with a training log to get away. Fortunately for Mikoto, she didn't need a training log near the Uchiha estate to perform the jutsu. She was good enough to get clear across town using one substitution jutsu, and that was exactly where she had gone.

Once free, Mikoto sat up and leaned against a tree. Her hands were covering a frontal stab wound she got during the massacre, from Itachi and not the only wound she had right then. 'My son? Why did you do this? Why? Did your father push you too hard and you snapped? Were you being controlled by someone? Why? Did you really kill everyone? Is my entire family dead because of my son?'

She sat down and wept. 'Who were those people there? They talked like they had something planned for the bodies and they didn't expect anyone to still be alive. But my False Death Jutsu can only last a few minutes, so they showed up just moments after Itachi saw me, so how could they have known about this so quickly? Why were they more interested in taking the bodies than stopping Itachi from making more?' She gasped. 'They were in on it. This wasn't a random slaughter. Someone planned this, to take something from the Uchiha.'

"Hey, you okay?" A man's voice called out to her, causing Mikoto to look forward rather than down. In front of her was Jiraiya, looking quite worried. "You're bleeding. What happened?"

"I'm not exactly sure myself. Aren't you Jiraiya of the Sannin?"

"Yes I am. That doesn't look good. Without medical attention you could bleed to death in an hour at most I'd say. But I'm not a medic. I can take you to one though."

"You can't take me to the Konoha hospital. If you do, there's no way I'm going to see the light of day again. Someone wants to harvest my body it sounds like."

Jiraiya as surprised, but nodded. "I know a place where you can be treated. The problem is, I can't guarantee you can come back here anytime soon."

"My family's dead. What do I have to come back to?" Mikoto sobbed.

"Alright then." Jiraiya then summoned a transportation toad. "We need to get to Tsunade right away." The toad got larger and swallowed Jiraiya and Mikoto, then poofed away and reappeared in Oto.

* * *

The next day, Mikoto was in Oto's hospital. Tsunade had treated her open wounds and kept her from excessive bleeding and internal bleeding as well, and did some repair on the damaged organs. It looked like Itachi had used a sword to cut thru her right kidney and knick her liver, not immediately threatening wounds but definitely not something that Mikoto could have shrugged off, and he appeared to have done some sort of damage to her spine in a second wound that Tsunade was having difficulty with.

Mikoto woke up in the morning but saw little reason to be awake and alive. Everyone she knew was dead, so why go on? Her answer came to her really soon.

Orochimaru came into the room as she ate breakfast. "Mikoto-san? It is you."

"Orochimaru-sama?" Mikoto asked. "So this is where you've been all these years. I probably should have guessed since Jiraiya-sama brought me here and Tsunade-sama treated me."

The snake sannin nodded. "Yes. This is my new home, Otogakure. The world's only true hidden village for the time being."

"I guess now's a good as time as any to give you my report on what's going on in Konoha heh?" Mikoto asked with a light smile, as if she was joking.

"That can wait until you're better. You've done so much for me and Naruto the least I can do is let you recover first." Orochimaru told her.

Out of all the people in Konoha who had been against Naruto in his brief time there, Mikoto was never one of them. She knew Kushina was due to give birth, was with Minato, and had chosen the name Naruto for her son. So when a baby with blonde hair named Naruto Uzumaki appeared the day of the Kyuubi attack, Mikoto would have to be too stupid to dress herself to not realize who he was. She would have gladly taken in Naruto if not for two reasons. One being that Fugaku absolutely refused to even think of the idea for reasons he never explained other than no non-Uchiha should have their privileges. And the other being that Mikoto had been out of town for a while trying to find Kushina's body and something she left behind for Naruto the days following his birth, and Orochimaru beat her to having custody. She didn't find Kushina, but she found the 'something' and kept ahold of it in secret so she could give it to Naruto when he was old enough to use it properly.

So even though she was unable to raise the boy, she did help Orochimaru in caring for Naruto and even Anko when she was needed. Until he had to leave Konoha, to which she couldn't join as she still needed to care for Sasuke. So she volunteered to stay behind and warn Orochimaru of any possible threats coming from Konoha by sending him messenger birds or informing Jiraiya. This was their first direct meeting in four years.

"Thank you Orochimaru-sama, but as long as you're here and it's fresh in my memory, I might as well tell you what I know." Mikoto claimed.

Orochimaru sat down on a chair beside the bed. "If you insist."

"The last thing I remember was having a peaceful night at home when all of a sudden my oldest son Itachi came home and tried to fight my husband. He didn't move like this was some random surprise fight or even a drill, he acted like he honestly wanted his father dead. Fugaku fought back and I think the two exchanged words but I can't remember anything they might have said. I tried to interfere but Itachi moved like I was going to receive no more mercy than Fugaku was going to."

"This is suspicious." Orochimaru commented.

Mikoto nodded then continued. "He almost pierced my neck but I substituted with a log to get away and ran to find some help. To my horror, the streets were littered with bloody dead bodies. All of them... cut or pierced by a sword." She paused briefly, tearing up at the memory. "I lost track of time, but Itachi caught up to me again. I tried to run, to keep Sasuke from getting hurt or even seeing any of this. Itachi used weapons and jutsus on me, and I kept substituting to get out of harm's way, but he did manage to get me once. Before he could do more, I used the False Death Jutsu to trick him into thinking I was dead, and I think it fooled him enough to have him pass me over."

"How tragic for you Mikoto-san." The snake sannin sympathetically said.

"And if that wasn't bad enough, when I recovered there were men in uniform collecting the dead bodies. I know for a fact I couldn't have been out for a long time, so I have big suspicions about them. It was like they knew Itachi was going to do this, and instead of stopping him, they wanted to harvest the Uchiha bodies for something. I know this because when they saw I was still alive, one of them talked like they wanted to cover it up, like there weren't supposed to be any survivors. But as long as I was alive they'd keep me hidden and turn me into a breeder like Kumo is rumored to do."

Orochimaru looked uncomfortable. "After learning what I have from Konoha, I find this very easy to believe Mikoto-san. Is it possible that the Sandaime ordered your son to kill off your entire clan?" Years ago when he learned about all of Sarutobi's shady dealings in Konoha, the idea that he could do this was not far-fetched to Orochimaru.

"I don't know how he could have made Itachi do such a thing, but I know my son, and I _know_ he would never do such a horrific thing voluntarily." Mikoto answered. "Itachi was like me, one of those rare types of people who became a ninja not for the glory or power or the privileges. He wanted to protect what he valued, thinking if getting his hands dirty was the price then so be it. There's no way he'd decide to commit murder on a mere whim!"

"So obviously something pushed him in that direction. The question is what and why?" The snake sannin replied.

Mikoto nodded. "Yes, but for the life of me I have no idea what that is."

"Don't worry about it for now. Rest and heal yourself Mikoto-san, and I'll have Jiraiya see what he can find out without looking suspicious." Orochimaru told the Uchiha matriarch.

Mikoto nodded, her eyelids getting heavy and she feel asleep a moment later.

-End Flashback-

Sasuke didn't know what to say. "So that's how you ended up in another village?" Mikoto nodded. "How long until you came back?"

"I needed some time to recover. Not a lot, since the greatest medic in the world was there to treat me, but I had no motive to leave. Until I learned of you that is. But unfortunately, coming back here was not easy." Mikoto answered.

-Flashback-

Mikoto had been in Oto for a month now, staying in the Otokage tower and keeping an eye on the children who lived there. Taking care of Naruto and the others helped fill the void created by the death of her family. It also gave her something to think about besides the lack of mobility in her legs. Apparently the wound to her spine had resulted in paralysis in her legs, and Tsunade's medic jutsu couldn't repair nerve damage right away. That required repeated treatments. Mikoto wouldn't be able to walk for quite a while.

Right now the Uchiha woman was in a wheelchair watching Naruto try some taijutsu moves with Hinata and Isaribi while Anko and Kurenai showed them what to do. She smiled to see Kushina's son so happy and well, unlike how he was in Konoha. 'Kushina-chan, you'd be happy to see your son having a good life here, and probably destroy Konoha for not accepting him. Why couldn't they? Was it really so hard to have faith in Minato's work? Why is it everyone praises him for destroying an entire army yet they can't have faith that his seals work? Don't they realize his Hiraishin, the jutsu he beat the army with, requires seals he designed to be done? If Naruto's seal was faulty then the Hiraishin wouldn't even exist. Their hate and mistrust doesn't make sense. It's as if... they _can't_ trust the seal. But why?'

Jiraiya walked up to Mikoto and caught her attention. "Hey Mikoto, I've got news you'll want to hear. But you better come with me to Tsunade-hime and Orochimaru to hear it. It's pretty important."

"Ok, take me there." Mikoto told the toad sannin.

Jiraiya pushed Mikoto's wheelchair to the Oto council meeting room, where only the other two sannin were seated, no one else. "Ah, Mikoto-san, glad you could make it. This applies to you more than anyone else." Orochimaru stated.

Mikoto looked curious, but stayed silent. Whatever they were going to tell her didn't need to be asked for apparently.

Tsunade spoke first. "Mikoto Uchiha, judging from what Jiraiya had gathered, we have good news and bad news for you. The good news is one of your family members survived what is now known in Konoha as the Uchiha Massacre."

Mikoto perked up, shocked. "What? Who?"

"Your son, Sasuke." Jiraiya told her, taking a seat.

"Sasuke? My baby's alive?" Mikoto was crying tears of relief. "Oh thank Kami. Wait, what's the bad news?"

"After hearing what you told me about what someone in Konoha had planned for your fate, I immediately worried your son would suffer the same way. However, apparently he hasn't. I'm not sure why, but your son does not to be in danger from anyone in Konoha." Jiraiya explained.

Mikoto looked confused. "How is that bad news?"

"I'm getting to that." Jiraiya reassured. "When I heard that Sasuke was not being kept hidden away by someone, but allowed to be out in the public with the populous allowed to know about him being alive, I was immediately suspicious. No one's made a move to take him out of the public's eyes, but I have a strong feeling someone in Konoha has plans for him."

Tsunade nodded. "It's like what Sensei did with Naruto. He covered up everything important so no one would have any interest in him. The problem is this time he's not doing that. The Sandaime is making no efforts to keep your son out of the public's eyes. The way we see it, any enemies the Uchiha have would love to know that right now as far as they know there's only one left and he's defenseless. Naturally, Konoha should hide Sasuke to avoid putting him in danger, but they're not. They _want_ everyone to know they have only one Uchiha left."

Jiraiya frowned. "Sensei hid Naruto's heritage and status from him and Konoha claiming he was keeping Naruto safe from any vengeful enemies. The fact is Minato and Kushina were not the only ones in Konoha who acquired enemies, even though Sensei lied about Iwa to exaggerate the danger. When you consider this, you would think Sensei would cover up Sasuke too, saying it's for his own good and Konoha's safety. But... they're not."

Mikoto nodded. "So someone obviously wants to take advantage of my son in a way that will only work if he's not in hiding, even if it means putting him in danger."

The sannin nodded too. "That's our thoughts exactly. The question is to what purpose?" Orochimaru spoke up.

"I'll try to find out but with my methods I can only find out so much." Jiraiya stated.

"Let me help." Mikoto said, making the sannin curious. "As soon as I can move on my own again, let me get a direct look. Jiraiya-sama can't be there all the time, and can't go looking for information on Konoha without looking suspicious, but I can."

Orochimaru shook his head. "Mikoto-san, you can't. If you show Konoha you survived, whoever tried to assault you that night will make an effort to do so again, or at least discredit you enough to keep you away from your son or the public. They'll ask where have you been all this time and how did you survive. If the T&I department get ahold of you, then this village will be revealed before we're ready for that. And from there, it would be easy to keep you locked up forever while they continue to do who-knows-what with your son."

Mikoto hung her head. "There must be something I can do."

Orochimaru thought it over. "Hmm... I think I know a way you can be a set of eyes and ears for us and stay out of trouble Mikoto-san." Everyone else looked at the snake sannin, who grinned like he had a great idea. "If people knew who you were, then only problems will await you. However, if no one knows who you are, then things will be safer for you."

Tsunade blinked as she thought it over. "You mean, create an identity for her and plant her in Konoha?" Orochimaru nodded. "That could work, but I see two flaws. How do you get her there without raising suspicions, and how would she be able to send us information?"

Orochimaru turned to Jiraiya. "Jiraiya, if you were go up to Sensei with a homeless civilian who can work that you're familiar with on your travels, would he turn her away?"

The toad sannin thought it over. "I don't think so, but it will take some convincing." He then turned to Mikoto. "Would you be able to handle that? Living under an alias and unable to do ninja work, but also unable to tell your son who you are? Even trying to gain legal guardianship over him will be out of the question, at least for a year or so. Any sooner will look like you have an agenda and you don't want that."

Mikoto didn't know what to say. 'I... I won't be able to tell my baby his mother's right there with him? He has to think I'm dead? Why? Even if it's for my own good, can I do it? See him but not tell him? Act like a stranger around him?' After a moment she cleared her throat. "Is... is there really no other way?"

Tsunade shook her head. "I don't think so Mikoto. I know it hurts, but think about it. At least this way you can see him and interact with him even if not as family, but if you don't you'll never get to be with him again. Going back as yourself will go make things worse. But going back as someone else, and you may have a chance to get close to him and later adopt him. If things work out that is, I can't guarantee that will happen."

Mikoto sighed. "Even so, it's my only chance, isn't it?" The sannin nodded. "Very well. I will go back to Konoha under a fake name and keep an eye on my son that way, as well as find out things for you about Konoha that Jiraiya-sama may not have access to. As for how I can send it to you, I know a way. If I place a long line of logs and rock in a straight line between the villages, I can use the substitution technique to get from Point A to Point B and back all within a night if I have to."

"You can do that?" Tsunade asked.

Mikoto nodded. "I'm the Kami no Kawarimi. I can substitute with many things very quickly and I have a larger range of usage than anyone else. I can cover miles in a flash thanks to one substitution, so I can cover the trip between the villages in an hour or so if I have to. The only reason I didn't get to the other side of the village away from Itachi right away that night was I didn't want him to follow me and get more people involved. But I could have if I wanted to."

Orochimaru was impressed. "That would help out quite a bit. A fast moving ninja who can hide under the radar so to speak. Our unseen Oto agent. Mikoto Uchiha, do you accept your responsibility?"

Before Mikoto could answer, Tsunade spoke up. "Hold on Orochimaru, she needs to recover first, and it could take up to a year to get her nerves reconnected and for her to handle the physical therapy to be as mobile as before."

Mikoto slammed her open palm on the table, effectively catching everyone's attention. "Six months! I'll be ready in six months. I've got a son to get back to, I can't wait a year for that."

Orochimaru smiled.

* * *

True to her word, Mikoto finished her treatments and recovery in six months. Six months and eight days to be exact. Everyone was amazed. Tsunade had finished her medical work about three months after Mikoto arrived in Oto, meaning four months of treatments total. After that, Mikoto regained the ability to use her legs, but had to learn to stand on her own again and get coordinated again when moving. Not only that, she needed to be used to performing jutsu again. But her desire to be near her son again motivated Mikoto like nothing else could have.

So now, Mikoto stood on her own in front of Orochimaru, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and the entire shinobi council of Oto. Orochimaru stood as the most prominent person there. "Mikoto Uchiha, you have surpassed our expectations and regained your ability to serve our village as desired faster than expected. That shows us you will be a great asset to our village. Will you serve us?"

Mikoto nodded. "I will. Konoha has proven to be a threat to me and my family, and while I cannot act yet I will find out the depths of this threat and ensure it will not spread to Otogakure. I owe my life to the sannin, and I will do as they ask to the best of my abilities, as a kunoichi of Oto."

Orochimaru smiled. "I'd give you an Oto hitai-ate, but where you're going that will only get you in trouble." Then he looked serious. "Mikoto-san, your mission is to disguise yourself as a civilian and allow Jiraiya to take you to Konoha. Once there you will assume a civilian's lifestyle and work, but keep a watchful eye and ear out for anything that can be of use to us. You have my permission to investigate the matter with the Uchiha as you wish, as long as it does not interfere with your other duties and does not put you at risk. At least once every two weeks, report back to us at your convenience. Do you understand?"

"I do, Otokage-sama."

Orochimaru and the others looked pleased. "Very well. Have you chosen an acceptable alias?"

Mikoto nodded. "Yes. Mako Ichiba, based on an old nickname of mine that hasn't been used in years. With that and a simple non-genjutsu disguise, I will handle my role with ease. I also learned how to be an eye doctor from my mother, so with Jiraiya-sama's help, I should have no problem landing a job as an unassuming optometrist. Someone every ninja will eventually come to and chat with."

Orochimaru and the others nodded. "Excellent. From now on, you will no longer be known as Mikoto Uchiha, until further notice. In Konoha, you will be Mako Ichiba. In Oto, your identity will be hidden to keep any spies in here from finding you. Here, you will be our secret weapon. Fast, unseen, unheard, unnoticeable. Your title will reflect that. You are... Subsonic!"

-End Flashback-

"And even you should know the rest Sasuke." Mikoto finished to her stunned son. "I came back, got a job, got a home, and got to see you around town all the time. It would have been great... until I found out that during the seven months I was gone you went from being a sweet boy to a rotten spoiled brat. No wonder Jiraiya-sama didn't tell me what you were like during my recovery. Had I known, I would have given up."

Sasuke was barely able to comprehend all this. Itachi had been unable to kill his mother? Someone knew about the massacre beforehand and seeked to profit from it? The legendary sannin had turned traitor to Konoha and were in charge of the music note ninja? His mother had been in Konoha for years but couldn't expose herself even to him to keep them both out of danger?

"This... can't be true." Sasuke said. "Can it?"

"It is, Sasuke." Mikoto reassured him. "Don't you remember how in my first year here I was always nice to you? Gave you treats? Offered to keep you company?"

"Everyone did that. And they also tried pushing their daughters onto me too."

Mikoto sadly nodded. "I remember. I also remember how you treated me when I was being nice. Nothing I did was good enough for you and you never wanted to talk to me unless I was kissing your ass. It hurt, but I thought you were just upset from the tragedy. It was worse when I saw you on your ninth birthday. Remember that?"

Sasuke tried to think back. "Umm... no, I don't."

"I'm not surprised." Mikoto said, sounding mournful. "I got you some of your favorite candy as a kid, hoping it would make you think of your mother and feel less alone. But when you got it, you..." Now she looked somewhat angry, shedding tears. "You actually had the gall to tell me it was the most worthless gift you ever got. You actually told me the wrapping paper was worth more to you than the gift was. You said my gift wasn't going to help you kill your brother and it was an insult to your clan to give you an inexpensive useless gift."

"It was." Sasuke said before he could stop himself.

Mikoto still looked mad. "A heartfelt gift was an insult? Sasuke, I never thought I could love and hate you at the same time."

Now Sasuke looked hurt. "Wh-what?"

"You're my son and I love you. I've never stopped. But at the same time, I hate what you've become. I know you can become a good person again, the kind of boy others can be proud of, but as long as you continue to believe that you're the only one who matters, you're just going to keep making me sick."

Sasuke gasped in disbelief. "What?"

Mikoto crossed. "Even when you thought I was dead, did you think I would approve of your behavior?"

"But I'm just trying to avenge everyone! That's important to us!" Sasuke argued.

Mikoto leaned closer, her glare started to make Sasuke panic a bit. "No, it's important to _you_! I don't like what Itachi did either, but I've at least made my peace with it. You however refuse to, and until you try, if you ever do kill Itachi, you'll just feel hollow because then you'll have nothing else to look forward to in life unless you decide someone else needs to be killed. I mean, seriously Sasuke, have you ever thought about what you're going to do _after_ you kill your brother?"

"I'll rebuld my clan and bring it back to glory again, without any council members using me." The young man answered.

Mikoto scoffed. "And how are you going to do that? You've already alienated every girl in your age group, even your most devoted one. You think you just have to act nice after Itachi's gone and they'll forget you called them 'worthless brainless bitches who are only there to make things easier for you'? Girls don't forget those kind of things so easily Sasuke, and they don't forgive on command no matter what your status may be. You've basically lost any chance to rebuild your clan since you've made it clear you don't care about anyone but yourself."

Now Sasuke got a little mad. "You're telling me to forget about what happened to my clan? You dare call me heartless, while this whole time you don't care about what happened to us nor tell me you were alive this whole time? What gives you the right to pass judgment on me?"

Mikoto crossed her arms, still looking stern and in charge here. "Once again you're only seeing this in a way that affects just you. You're not even asking how am I affected, nope, just yourself. I told you I don't like what Itachi did, and I've been miserable not being able to tell you who I really am. But if you really want to know why I decided what I did, you've got to stop thinking about yourself for a moment."

Sasuke frowned but he did look less offended. Nonetheless he tried to reassert himself by crossing his own arms. "Fine. Explain yourself."

Frowning, Mikoto jabbed Sasuke right on the forehead with her fingers exactly like Itachi used to. The gesture made Sasuke lose his composure. "You've got a lot of nerve Son. Here I am trying to make you see reason, and you just talked to me like I'm your subordinate? Maybe I'm to blame for not raising you these past few years, I can admit that, but you're clearly not ready to face the truth. Even when it's right in front of you." She then turned away and stepped away from him, as if heading for the window.

"Where are you going... Mom?" He asked, calling her 'Mom' quietly, as if he was afraid to.

Mikoto stopped but didn't face him. "Out. I still have a job to do here. Talking to you and trying to get you to open your eyes was just part of it. Apparently you need a little more time before you can accept the truth I told you. After this, I'm going back to Oto, to stay. I can't keep spying now that my identity has been compromised."

Sasuke silently gasped. His mother was leaving him. "Please don't. If you love me, you can't leave me."

Mikoto glanced at Sasuke with only the right side of her face seen by him. "Sasuke, I've never stopped loving you. That doesn't mean I _like_ you as you are though. You need to let a few things sink in before I can like you again." Now she faced him directly again, but she still looked ready to leave at any second. "I'm going to come back in about a month. If you can prove to me at that point that you can be a good boy again, then I'll do something for you. If you can't, then the next time you see me, we're enemies."

Sasuke silently gasped again. "What... what do I have to do?"

"Make the right decision when the council makes a move on you in a week or two."

Sasuke was confused. "What do you mean?"

"You'll find out when the time comes." Mikoto told him, as if she didn't want to be too specific. "All I will tell you Sasuke is soon you will be in a situation where you will have to make a choice. When you choose, I _will_ know. If you choose to be greedy and self-interested, then I will have nothing more to do with you. If you choose to be humble and unbribed, then I will offer you the chance to truly be happy."

Sasuke looked hopeful. "You'll help me kill Itachi?"

Mikoto shook her head. "No matter what, I will not help one of my sons kill the other. My way of helping you... is a secret."

"Can't you tell me?" Sasuke asked.

Mikoto shook her head again. "Not until I know what you really want in life. And I'll find out before the month is over. For now, there's nothing more for me to say. I hope to see you again Son, but if you tell anyone about me or what I told you, you never will again."

Before Sasuke could ask anything more or try to stop here, Mikoto disappeared, replaced with a piece of debris from somewhere outside, leaving Sasuke alone until his teammates came knocking at his door.

_The following are those that guessed Subsonic's identity correctly, and thus have earned the right to give me five write-in votes for my Best Narutofic Author Poll:_

_Artjr_

_Blood Brandy_

_CloudRed1988_

_DeathMVP_

_Dreaded Rasengan_

_Fuyutaro son_

_Hells Mercenary_

_Hiro Kurisaki_

_Hyrulean Hero Akai_

_Kamen Rider Abyss Diend_

_Ookami88_

_peace shadow_

_Shadow of the Light Hawk_

_Triforce Guardian_

_VFSNAKE_

_XxXElementalWarriorXxX_

_Zen Rinnegan_

_Those of you listed who are not interested in leaving write-in votes may give that chance to someone else, but I must hear it from you first._


	67. Invasion 3

Chapter 67: Invasion 3

Sarutobi was a smart man, despite whatever his students would say about him this day. He wasn't called The Professor for nothing. He knew his students were not winging this battle nor this assault on Konoha. They had a plan, and they had contingencies for set-backs and obstacles to their success. Just like how he had strategies for if his beloved Konoha ever was invaded during his second reign.

But seeing an old man in a wheelchair brought into the fight by the Yondaime Kazekage had a way of throwing him off. 'What the heck is going on?'

"Am I missing something?" Enma asked, voicing his summoner's confusion.

"I don't know old friend, but my gut tells me asking them won't get us any answers." Sarutobi replied.

"Any last words Satoru-san?" Kazekage asked.

"Tell him not to regret what was done for him." The old man answered with the calmness of one who accepted the inevitable and embraced it rather than continued to fight it.

"Will do." Orochimaru said before taking out a sutra and placing it on the man's back and casting a set of twenty rapid hand signs. "Edo Tensei Soul Exchange."

Around the old man something that looked like a coffin formed. On the lid was the kanji for Death, but it started to glow.

Sarutobi felt a chill go down his spine. "Whatever he's doing, I don't think I want him to succeed." With the others still occupied fighting his giant stone gorilla, Sarutobi rushed towards his pale student.

He was blocked by the Kazekage. "Now now, I can't have you interfere and make one of my men's sacrifice meaningless can I? You want him you're going to have to get thru me first."

"Hokage versus Kazekage. Place your bets." Orochimaru joked.

* * *

One Hyuuga was aiming right for Hinata's heart. Before he could make a hit, a small orange blur appeared and bit onto his arm, causing him to retract his arm before any hit could be made.

"Sango! Perfect timing, as usual." Naruto said, happy to see his snake friend. She couldn't respond as her mouth was full at the moment. One of the other Hyuugas tried to attack the snake and Naruto came to aid her. "Ghost Art Beckon From the Grave Jutsu." He said after performing five hand signs then slamming his palms on the ground.

The ground under them turned dark like upturned soil, and from out of it emerged multiple ghostly arms. These arms grabbed onto all the Hyuugas rather tightly then started to pull them down. The Hyuuga watched in horror as their feet started sinking into the darkened ground. Neji reacted by hitting the arms with the juuken, which destroyed the arms but only briefly. A destroyed one always reformed and grabbed another available spot.

"What the hell is going on?" Hizashi asked when his ankles sank completely into the ground.

Sango let go of her victim and slithered over to Naruto, perching on his left shoulder. "Are these the ones you warned me we might have to face someday?"

"The very same."

"Got any ideas?" Sango asked.

Naruto shook his head. "Not many. But since when do I need one to fight?"

Jiraiya ran up and surprised one Hyuuga with a kick to his head. The only reason the Hyuuga didn't defend himself was because he assumed the toad sannin was on his side here. "Jiraiya-sama? What are you doing?" A different Hyuuga asked.

"My duty here, taking down Konoha."

"You betrayed us?" Hizashi asked.

"Chronologically speaking, Konoha betrayed me first, but I owe you no explanations." He then created a rasengan and thrust it into an attacking Neji's stomach. It wouldn't kill him, but it would certainly leave a mark for quite a while. Not to mention the collision threw Neji a few meters back and made him hit the railing of the arena banisters headfirst before he fell over it and down into the arena itself.

"Oh, I don't care what clan you're from, that's gotta hurt." Naruto commented. Isaribi smiled and nodded.

Jiraiya jumped and landed beside Naruto. "No time for joking Naruto. We need you now. It's time for our ploy to destroy Konoha's spirit."

Naruto nodded. "Got it Ero-Jiisan. Be safe without me girls."

"We will." Hinata and Isaribi said to their man before he and his snake friend disappeared with Jiraiya leaving only a log in their place.

"And how exactly do you two girls plan to get out of here alive?" A Hyuuga asked.

Hinata and Isaribi got into their stances and activated the first stage of their curse marks. Hinata was covered in several lines made of connecting tear-shaped marks and Isaribi's marks looked more like a river current. "See for yourself." Hinata said.

* * *

"Damn Kurenai don't you die on me. What am I going to tell your boyfriend if you do? Who's going to be my buddy with you gone?" Anko said, trying to avoid crying as she treated her ailing friend.

"I'm sorry Anko, I guess I was being selfish." Kurenai stated weakly yet sarcastically.

Anko looked around and saw she now was surrounded. Around her and her friend were four genin, Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji, and Tenten, while the adult ninja were busy dealing with the snakes Anko summoned including Kogyoku. "You kids got a death wish?"

"It's four-against-one here." Ino said, not counting Kurenai since she was 'out'.

"Then go grab four more and it will be a fair fight." Anko replied, not sounding like she was joking.

Tenten threw eight kunai at Anko all at once. Using one of her own, Anko deflected and blocked six of them. The two she missed hit her snake-skin armor resulting in no damage at all. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Shikamaru ready his shadow and Ino ready her mind transfer while she was distracted. Smiling, Anko activated her curse mark, gaining snake-shaped streaks all over her skin. "Attack me, I dare you."

Shikamaru hesitated, unnerved by this strange display, though he did remain ready to retaliate if he needed to. Tenten acted similarly by not throwing more weapons but keep some at hand ready at a moment's notice. Ino on the other hand, "Mind Transfer Jutsu."

Anko smiled and allowed the attack to hit her, immediately making Shikamaru wary. But as soon as Ino was in there, screaming was heard and it looked like Anko was grabbing her own head. "AGH! IT HURTS! IT HURTS!"

All of a sudden Anko stopped and Ino's body returned to consciousness. Chouji was immediately at her side. "What happened?"

"Her chakra. It's... it's unnatural. Evil." The Yamanaka heiress ade herself say. "You're a monster." She then told Anko.

The snake summoner smirked. "Oh, you want to see a real monster? How about... THIS?" Now she was activating her second stage.

* * *

Kakashi thrust a kunai into the neck of an Oto shinobi killing him. 'There, it looks like things have calmed down a bit. I better go check up on my students.' "Hey Gai, I'm done here. Think you can-?" He stopped when he saw the green-clad jounin wasn't there anymore. "Where did he go? Oh well, I better get going too."

He headed towards outside the arena, but stopped when an approaching shadow formed around him. He jumped to his right, narrowly avoiding what looked like a large white drill that would have otherwise skewered him like a spear. Two ninja wearing Oto symbols then landed at his left and right. The one on his right was the impostor otokage, dressed in a black outfit with a green vest and sporting a faceplate eerily similar to what Tobirama wore but with Oto's symbol rather than Konoha's. The one to his left had pale skin and white hair, and wore loose purple pants and a loose open white shirt, sporting an Oto hitai-ate on his forehead.

"Kakashi Hatake, we've heard about you. You will find this to be a rather difficult fight." The white-haired one stated calmly.

"Well, it's not fair that you two know me but I don't know you." Kakashi calmly said, almost sounding bored. Yet he was still on his guard; he only wanted to sound foolish to lower their likelihood of taking him serious right away.

"We're ninja. We don't do things fair. But if you must know, I am Yamato Tenzou."

"And I am Kimimaro Kaguya."

'Kaguya? That name feels familiar. Where have I heard it before.' Kakashi asked himself.

"If you wish to avoid an unnecessary fight, answer one question. Where is Danzou Shimura? He's the one we're ordered to find." Kimimaro asked.

Kakashi shrugged. "I can honestly say I haven't a clue, but I do know that I shouldn't allow you the chance to find out."

"So be it." Kimimaro held out his hand, all his fingers pointed at Kakashi. "Digital Shrapnel." Holes appeared at the end of his fingers and small white projectiles shot out rapidly.

Without his sharingan, Kakashi's reflexes no longer were what he made them to be. He could no longer see each individual projectile and know when and how to avoid them. He spent most of the past month training himself to be coordinated without an active sharingan again. This is why he was able to avoid a lethal hit even though two of Kimimaro's attacks hit him.

'Did he just shoot his finger bones out of his hand?' Kakashi asked himself. 'That's it. The Kaguya were that bone-wielding clan from Kiri, rumored to be the one who started the anti-bloodline behavior in Kiri. What's one of them doing here?'

"Dance of the Camellia." Kimimaro then sprouted a bone spike from his upper arm that he pulled right out of his body then held in his hand. This bone looked just like a hilt-less sword.

"Wood Style Four Pillar Prison Jutsu." Yamato said behind Kakashi, catching the former Anbu's attention.

'Wood Style? That's impossible!' Yet the sight of a wooden cage forming around him proved otherwise. "What the hell kind of village do you people come from?"

"The Sound work best in silence." Kimimaro told him.

'That kunoichi I faced in Wave said the same thing. Say what you want about this people, they understand the importance of deception.' Kakashi thought while he was also trying to think up a way out of this.

Kimimaro approached him swiftly hoping to impale this in a painful spot. Kakashi had little room to dodge, but Kimimaro did not expect him to just stand there and take it. Nope, the Konoha nin would try and defend himself, and Kimimaro wanted to see how. It would be alright as long as Yamato was there to provide back up.

"Fire Style Grand Fireball Jutsu." Kakashi said before creating a gigantic fireball that both burned his wooden prison and moved toward his enemy.

"Exoskeletal Armor." The white-haired Oto nin suddenly grew bone plates all over him, deflecting the fire attack and leaving him unharmed.

"Wood Style Chakra Binding Roots." Yamato said in an effort to keep Kakashi unable to do much more. Large tree roots burst out of the ground surrounding the former cyclops.

"Raikiri." Kakashi declared, creating his electric attack. Using it he slashed the approaching wooden limbs, keeping them off him completely. He had to stop when he felt something hit the back of his right shoulder. He turned and saw it was Kimimaro's bone sword. 'Damn, I fight one and leave myself open to the other. I need to take them both down at once. But how?'

* * *

Inoichi was inside Gaara's mind. What he expected to see was an empty white void where he could either take control of the boy or search for memories. What he saw was a vast desert with a gigantic pyramid in the center of it. On the side of the pyramid was the kanji for 'One' and a closed door. But it wasn't a stone door like one would expect on a pyramid, but rather it was a barred door better suited for a prison cell.

"Bad move coming here Konoha ninja." Gaara's voice said from behind the Yamanaka head, who turned around to face the young sand wielder.

'How can he be here? In all my experience I've never seen the consciousness of my target actually appear before me when I was in their mind.' Inoichi immediately got ready to fight. "This may be your mind, but that just makes you all the more vulnerable to my methods."

"But can you handle two opponents?" Gaara said, pointing to the pyramid. Inoichi looked back and saw something that made him sweat in panic. Behind the barred door he could see a giant eye, a yellow one with a cross-shaped black slit pupil and four black dots between the four points of the slits. And if that wasn't bad enough, he could practically taste the killing intent coming out of the pyramid.

"What the hell is that?"

"Say hello to my little friend." Gaara joked.

Inoichi felt the sand underneath his feet start to move, pulling him towards the pyramid door. "Oh hell no." He jumped away, getting away from the sand pull.

"Sand Shuriken." Gaara said, throwing three sand discs at Inoichi. The first one struck but he avoided the other two. "I've heard of your type of ninja Konoha-san. You place yourself in the mind of your target to gather information or use their body. But it works best when the target is unaware or weak-willed. To bad for you I was neither when you attacked. And to make matters worse, my consciousness isn't the only one here, so taking me over is practically impossible for you."

Gaara threw some more sand weapons at Inoichi, who worked at dodging. While he dodged, he had to keep moving away from the pyramid the sand current was pulling him towards. 'Dammit, I'm in a tough spot here. If I focus on the kid I'm vulnerable to the thing in the pyramid. But whenever I get away from it that gives the kid a better chance to hit me. What do I do? I can either get out of here or...' Getting an idea, Inoichi ran towards the pyramid and jumped, landing on the side of the stone building. 'There. I'm away from the sand and the kid so I can prepare a proper jutsu.'

Gaara smiled. "You really think you're safe there? Take a better look."

Inoichi saw that several of the bricks on the pyramid walls were actually replaced with small barred opening, resembling gutter vents. From out of them brewed tendrils of sand that quickly looked like clawed hands, each having blue markings running along them and black tips at the end of each claw.

"What the heck is in here?" Inoichi almost screamed, trying to fend off the multiple appendages.

"Shukaku the Sand Spirit, AKA the Ichibi no Tanuki." Gaara calmly answered with a victorious smile.

'This kid's a jinchuuriki? This is out of my league.' Inoichi thought before ending his jutsu and leaving the mindscape.

* * *

"There. That should stabilize you for the time being." Kabuto told his ailing student. "I don't have time for more, so we need to get you out of here for now."

"Thanks Sensei." Zaku said, feeling better but still woozy.

"Sensei!" Kin called. "I don't think doing that is going to be easy right now."

Kabuto looked at his student and saw Gai standing before Kin and Dosu. "I'd hate to have to crush such youthful spirits and growing potential, but I do have a job to do. Pity it had to come to this."

Kabuto stepped forward. "Guys, let me handle this one. You two get Zaku out of harm's way."

"Got it Sensei." Kin said before she and Dosu went to assist their downed teammate.

Kabuto eyed Gai, who made no move to intervene. "Not going to bother them?"

"I completely understand your desire to protect your students. Besides, I don't exactly like fighting kids if I can avoid it."

"I hope you have no qualms about fighting me." The bespectacled medic said as he created a chakra scalpel on each hand then charged in.

Gai dodged so quickly even Kabuto couldn't see him move. "Indeed." He then landed a kick on him from behind, a kick strong enough to send Kabuto flying off the rooftop and over the neighboring building before landing on the ground.

'Damn, that hurt. I think he cracked a vertebrae at least and maybe even bruised an organ.' Before Kabuto could get back up, Gai reappeared in front of him.

"Are you finished already?" Gai asked.

Kabuto swiftly got back on his feet, though his back hurt when he landed. "Not even close."

"How are you even able to stand up? Usually when I land a hit of that caliber without any training weights on in a location such as that my target can barely even breathe." Gai said. As soon as the invasion became apparent he had removed his own weights, allowing him to move at his max.

"I'm a good healer." Kabuto replied. 'Ever since that sick experiment I was forced to be in before I left this village with Orochimaru-sama, I've had healing abilities on par with a jinchuuriki. My only concern is if this guy can damage me better or faster than I can recover.'

Gai popped his knuckles. "Good. Then let us continue." But before he could make a move, a large amount of senbon hit him from behind and to his right, striking him in many points on his back. Within seconds he fell face first and made no further moves.

Kabuto was honestly surprised. "What the-?" The next thing he knew was a repeated attack at him that hit him too. After that, he fell on his back and saw only black.

* * *

"What the hell is that?"

Fuu smirked. "Your worst nightmare. Times seven!" Her chakra took on no shape, but the dangerous intent behind it was sensable to everyone there.

The Hyuuga Anbu was the first to make a move towards her. Fuu smirked and performed two hand seals. "Ninja art: Hidden in Scale Powder Jutsu." She then exhaled a large cloud of fine powder that quickly expanded, keeping all the Anbu's attention on her.

Haku and Sasame covered their eyes right away, though Haku then make a few one-handed hand signs.

In the bright daylight with little shade in the alley, the sunlight bounced off the fine powder and reflect enough light to rival the sun. Each Anub blocked their eyes as best they could, but the Hyuuga was the worst off. The bright blinding light was coming from all directions so with his byakugan on he was the most affected by this. "My eyes!" Even after deactivating his doujutsu he had the worst headache he had ever had in his life.

Haku couldn't see what was going on, but she grinned triumphantly. 'Looks like those ice mirrors I made to reflect and enhance the light worked perfectly.' Feeling the cat mask Anbu holding her captive loosen her grip, the ice-wielder slipped away silently. She was as blind as the others were, but at least now she didn't have a sword against her neck.

Fuu fortunately was the only one unaffected by the jutsu, and moved to gather her teammates. But first she had to get these annoying Anbu out of the way. She ran right up to the Hyuuga Anbu. "Earth Style Headhunter Jutsu." She touched him and instantly his body sunk in the ground up to his neck, leaving him easy prey for a decapitation move. Then she approached the pig masked Anbu who was standing close to Sasame, who was still downed. "Ninja Art: Glitter Razor Torture Jutsu." She exhaled another burst of glowing powder that covered this man from head to toe.

The pig Anbu soon screamed and tore at his body. "What the hell is this?"

Fuu smiled seeing this man suffering. She was taught the powder techniques by Shibuki as a gesture of trust to her, even when she chose to make Oto her permanent home rather than Taki. For the most part, they were distracting or irritating techniques that incapacitated an enemy while the support handled them directly. This move, the Glitter Razor Torture, was one of the few methods where actual damage was done to the victim. The powder embedded itself in the victim's skin and clothes striking nerve points, making the body feel like small razors were cutting into it everyone all at once.

The cat Anbu was now the only one there able to fight, even though it was still too bright for her to see. 'I can't fight effectively here. I better get out of here. Maybe Hayate-kun can help me out.' She immediately shushined out of the area and took off her maks, trying to regain her vision.

An Anbu on the move landed beside her. "You alright Yugao-san?"

Yugao rubbed her eyes. "I will be. Watch out for a kunoichi with green hair. There's something... sinister about her."

* * *

Many Hyuuga came in, but Hinata created chakra blades that emerged from her palms. "5 Trigrams Protective Blade Dance." Swinging her arms around, she kept any Hyuuga from getting too close to her. Those that did got cut for it.

Hizashi had to admit he was impressed with this maneuver. 'It reminds me of the Rotation, but here she sacrifices the overall effectiveness of the defense to create an offense/defense combo. Impressive, but unless you're flexible enough to react quickly you leave yourself open too much.'

While Hinata was handling that, Isaribi took out one of her storage scrolls. "Oh no you don't!" A female Hyuuga elder shouted, throwing a kunai at the swimming enthusiast. She blocked with one of her trench knives and opened the scroll before biting her thumb and smearing blood on a seal.

"Water's not going to do you any good here. There's no place for you to contain it." A Hyuuga with a mustache told her. He was right, the surrounding area had too many places for any water to drain out in.

"Who said I was using water?" Isaribi asked. A closer look showed this seal did not have the Kanji for Water, but rather the one for Person.

A large cloud formed around the scroll, blinding even the byakugan momentarily. When it cleared, all the Hyuuga stopped what they were doing, too surprised to do anything else.

"It... it can't be!"

"It is."

"How is this possible?"

Standing in the dissipating smoke was Hitomi Hibiki, formerly Hitomi Hyuuga wife of the late Hiashi Hyuuga. And she did not look happy. "Hello everyone. Miss me?"

"Hi... Hitomi?" Hizashi asked.

Hitomi looked at him but her expression did not change. "Hizashi. Call off your men. You know what I can do if you don't." She looked at each of them, giving her darkest frown for the elders. She wasn't imagining things when she felt they were the most surprised to see her alive and well.

"How can this be? We were told you died due to difficulties in giving birth that were so great you had to be taken to Tsunade-sama but she couldn't save you." Hizashi asked, genuinely surprised though not upset to see her.

"Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated." Hitomi answered.

"Exaggerated? The story was downright falsified." An elder stated.

"Like I care what any of you think? You're the ones who tried to kill me."

Hizashi jerked back in surprise. "Kill you?"

Hitomi smirked. "Why don't you ask the elders exactly why I had a difficult birth in the first-?" She stopped when one of the Hyuuga twenty years older than herself threw a kunai at her, trying to silence her.

Hinata used her chakra blade to cut the kunai and stop it. "Don't you dare hurt my mother!" She shouted, glaring at her former family. Then she started to activate the second stage of her mark. The Hyuugas wanted in fear as the young girl before them started to sprout white and brown feathers and her hair became a bit spikier, though not quite like Naruto's. Her hands morphed to resemble yellow scaled bird legs and feet shaped like human arms and hands but tipped with long black talons. Behind her grew bird wings covered almost entirely in brown feathers on the tops side and white with brown horizontal stripes on the underside, and tail feather brown on both sides. Her lips hardened into what looked like a bird's beak, though it was still shaped like a human mouth, and her byakugan became black. Right now, she looked like some combination of human being and falcon.

"My turn." Isaribi said before activating her own curse mark. Her skin became a soft green hue and scaled, though her underside and face became more of a pale yellow color with green stripes under her eyes. Her arms got thicker and sprouted small fins on the back of the forearms, her fingernails got sharper and could not be distinguished from her fingers. The same happened to her legs, but her toes were webbed unlike her fingers. Her hair blended with her skin causing her to become bald yet her long bangs on the side of her face remained, just transformed into what looked like a vestigial set of arms. On top her head there emerged a fish's dorsal fin. (AN: Basically her sea-creature form is her second stage in this story.)

"What the hell are you?" A bald Hyuuga asked.

"Pissed off kunoichi." Hinata answered.

* * *

Inoichi returned to his own body and saw his allies trying to fight the other Suna genin. Temari and Kankuro were keeping the Konoha ninja effectively at bay while only struggling to avoid Chouza's large arms. When his eyes returned towards Gaara, who was just standing there ignoring everything yet protected by his automatic sand defenses, Inoichi saw a smile on the red-haired boy that chilled him to the bone.

"Target the redhead first! He's the most dangerous one here!" He shouted to his comrades.

Not one to argue with his teammate, Shikaku started to get ready for a shadow binding for Gaara. The Suna nin saw it coming and let his sand cover the ground. "Sand Wave Overflow" The sand rose to create a wall-like wave that if made out of water would have been perfect to surf on. This wave interfered with both Shikaku's and Chouza's methods, but didn't make them stop trying.

Suddenly the wave rushed forward as if reaching out to crush them from above. Shikaku immediately backed away as quick as he could and he wasn't the only one. 'Clever ploy. This attacks us and prevents my shadow from reaching anyone at the same time. I need to try from another vantage point.'

Chouza seemed to be the only one not bothered by the sand attack. "Expansion Jutsu Full Body." The large ninja now became even larger, gigantic enough to step on a small building like it was a tin can. The sand wave did nothing to him, feeling mostly like a splash against his ankle. All the ninja stopped moving, even the Suna nin, awaiting his next reaction.

Gaara grinned. "You're not the only one who can get bigger." All of a sudden the sand around him came back to him and started to swiftly pile up. Temari and Kankuro got away as quick as they could. Chouza reached down trying to stop the growing sand pile but it seemed to push back against him just as hard, and it was even taking shape.

"What's going on here? Where's he getting all this sand?" Shikaku asked.

"He may be using the ground he's standing on, converting it into sand. Or maybe he had storage seals containing more." Inoichi suggested.

Chouza tried even harder to keep this growing sand pile down, even pressing his whole body against it like a sumo wrestler would. Bad idea, for the mound grew arms and they grabbed him, digging their claws into him where his armor didn't cover. He struggled to pull back and saw the sand form a head on top. A head with raccoon eyes and ears, and a mouth full of jagged teeth. Behind the sand construct appeared to be a tail made from hundreds of smaller tanuki tails pressed together. From the forehead emerged the top half of Gaara's body.

"Shukaku, go ahead and have a little fun. Just remember, only target the Konoha shinobi." Gaara said.

The bijuu under him smiled. "Thanks kid. This will be a blast."

* * *

Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji, and Tenten watched in horror as Anko transformed in front of them. Ino even tried to perform a genjutsu release but it didn't work.

The mark spread all over Anko's skin until it was colored red and yellow in horizontal stripes, but then it became scaled like a reptile. Her purple hair became dark red and the ends started to look like yellow-tipped snake tails. Her eyes gained thin black rings around them and the pupils turned yellow with black slits. The ends of her fingers changed to look like snake heads with permanently closed mouths. Anko smiled, revealing serpentine fangs and a forked tongue.

"What the hell are you?" Ino asked, scared to face such an opponent.

Tenten threw a shuriken, but Anko ducked and held out her left arm. The limb stretched like rubber and grabbed her right calf. She was pulled towards the Oto kunoichi and suddenly the arm wrapped around her and tightened. 'It's like she's trying to constrict me.' Tenten thought, already struggling to breathe.

Thinking quickly, Chouji started to prepare an attack. "Expansi-" He was cut off by a kunai to his neck held from behind. He turned and saw Kurenai, her first stage mark active, decorating her skin with chains of connected diamond shapes. "What the hell? Aren't you supposed to be...?" He looked back at where he thought she was, only to see an empty spot.

"Genjutus. I tricked you all into thinking I was still down and out, so I could sneak up on you all." Kurenai replied.

Ino held out her hands. "Mind Destruction-" She stopped when she felt a second Kurenai holding a kunai against her throat. "How are you-?"

"This has got to be another genjutsu." Shikamaru said, now captured by a third Kurenai. 'Where's the real one?'

Seeing the others were held up for the moment, Anko held out her right arm and stretched it too, constricting Chouji. Then she lifted her right leg and it even stretched, allowing her to constrict Ino too. Once held tightly, the Kurenai's by the genin faded away, leaving the real one holding Shimakaru.

'Looks like I'm the only one who has any chance of getting us out of this until reinforcements arrive. What a drag.' Shikamaru thought.

* * *

Sarutobi tried to hit the Kazekage with his adamantine staff, but Suna's leader blocked with a gold staff of his own. Both were pressing as hard as they could against the other, trying to make the other kage slip up and reveal an opening. In the background, Sarutobi noticed that his giant stone gorilla had not hurt any of the others yet. It couldn't seem to move fast enough to hit any of them, but at least Tsunade wasn't able to shatter it in one punch. At the same time Orochimaru looked like he was waiting for something.

"Sarutobi, I demand an answer for why you tried what you did to my village." Kazekage told the old man.

Sarutobi did not look intimidated. "I did no harm to your village. Any harm that happened was your own fault."

"It was you and you know it."

"No, it was YOU and you know it." Sarutobi countered. "All I did was suggest something. You're the one who chose to take it seriously. Did I order you to treat your jinchuuriki like something less than human? Did I order you to make his training hell until he snapped and would lash out at you and Suna until nothing was left but rubble? Did I? No, I didn't. I merely made a comment. Whatever happened, it was because YOU chose to take my threat seriously. You're just as mad at yourself as you are at me; you just won't admit it."

Thinking quickly, the Kazekage tried a sweep-kick to unbalance the old Hokage. Sarutobi saw it and jumped above it, but unfortunately this gave Kazekage the opportunity to attack again with his staff. The end hit Sarutobi's helmet and knocked it off, giving the old man a bit of a bruise on his left cheek.

"Maybe you're right. But what I really want to know was why did you give me that comment in the first place? What did you have to gain from telling me to treat my own like a monster? Did you WANT Suna to be destroyed? We were your allies and posed no threat to you. If anything getting rid of us would only weaken you because you've have no support if someone attacked you."

"Like now." Kushina was heard stated, using her chains to immobilize the gorilla golem.

Sarutobi was surprised. "They caught it? How?"

Kazekage smiled. "What did you expect? We're in a finite area thanks to the barrier. Not to mention I placed a lot of my gold rust in the rubble you created it from so now it's really slow and heavy. I'm kind of surprised it lasted as long as it has."

"This thing's got to have a weak spot." Tsunade said. She then ran up the stone body and got on it's face. "Might as well try here." She cocked her fist and thrust a punch right between the eyes of the stone gorilla. It shattered like it was made of dry clay.

Kushina recalled her chains as Tsuande landed on her feet. "Nice job Tsunade-sama. You got it on the first try."

Kazekage recalled all his now free gold dust. "Now, answer my question dammit. What were you trying to accomplish when you tried to turn me against my son?"

"Me and the Wind Daimyo had an agreement. He got tired of funding your village but knew if he got involved it would only give him bad propaganda. And I couldn't invade you since my shinobi aren't used to desert terrain and my jinchuuriki at the time was too young to be useful. So I proposed that allowing your village to destroy itself was the best way to handle it. The Wind Daimyo cut off funding and missions little by little while you were supposed to drive your own weapon insane and against you. With Suna gone, Konoha receives more work, more pay, better status, and one less jinchuuriki that could be used against us."

Kazekage glared, looking just like Gaara right then. "You were hoping to destroy my entire village and every innocent in it, just to put a few more ryo in your wallet?"

"Ninja kill for pay. That's in the job description. Your daimyo decided he'd rather give my village mission when he needed work then pay to keep your village supplied and happy. As for me, would you turn down money from two daimyos?" Sarutobi replied.

"I gotta agree with him there." Enma said, returning to his monkey form. "In a business sense, every other village is just competition. Even the allies. And if your own daimyo deserted you, why should Hiruzen have pity for you?"

Kazekage stood there, changing his gold staff into a long sword. "As a businessman and a politician in charge of an entire village, I cannot fault you for that. If it had been the other way around I'd likely have done the same. However, as a father, I _will_ make you pay."

"Wait just a moment Kazekage-sama." Orochimaru calmly said, making the two kages turn towards him. Next to the snake sannin was Jiraiya and Naruto, who had used the substitution technique to get in and out of the barrier thanks to specially made seals both wore for this exact purpose and moment. "Ready you two?"

"Ready." They both said.

"Oh Naruto, remove your disguise. It will make things go smoother later." Orochimaru added.

"Gotcha Jiisan." Using his chakra, Naruto forced the hair dye and make-up off him, revealing his blonde hair and whisker marks.

It may have been ten years, but Sarutobi immediately knew who he was. The name, the whiskers, the hair, the fact he was with Orochimaru. "Naruto's been alive all this time?"

"Now Orochimaru." Jiraiya told his pale teammate.

Orochimaru nodded and performed a large number of hand signs while Naruto formed the tiger sign. "Edo Tensei Totality."

The lid on the coffin burst open, causing a large amount of grey smoke to rush out and make everyone cough a bit. "Naruto now!" Orochimaru told the young blonde.

Naruto came up to the coffin, flared his chakra, and made direct contact with whatever was inside it. There was a glow of white chakra that soon turned blue and got brighter. Almost too bright to look at. Then it stopped, and Naruto stepped aside with a smile.

Sarutobi saw a silhouette of a person come out. 'Is this Tobirama-sensei's jutsu he was experimenting on? Did Orochimaru somehow make it work?' "You can't do this! There's a reason the Nidaime declared it forbidden!"

"I'm not the Nidaime, am I Sensei?" Orochimaru asked.

The smoke cleared, and standing there was probably the last person Sarutobi expected to see. A tall young man with blonde hair that framed his face, wearing an open off-white cloak that had red-orange flames on the bottom, over a jounin vest, black cloth arm covers, blue pants, and black shoes. There was no mistaking this person.

"Mi... Minato?"

The revived Yondaime Hokage blinked. "Huh? Where am I? How did I-?"

"Minato-kun!" Kushina happily said, rushing up to her husband. "I'm so glad you're back." She hugged him, but he didn't react. "Say something dear."

"How did you get so old?" He innocently asked.

"Idiot!" She yelled before hitting him on top of his head. "I'm not old. And it's not my fault you haven't aged a day while I've aged thirteen years."

"Thirteen years?" Minato asked.

Jiraiya came up to his student. "Minato, I'm not sure how to tell you this, but you've been dead for thirteen years while your wife was in a coma."

"Wow, you're really gotten old Ero-Sensei." Minato joked, this time making his wife laugh.

"If you can crack jokes, perhaps you can help us fight." Jiraiya said before pointing to Sarutobi, who was still flabbergasted by all this. "Remember your wish for Naruto to be seen as a hero? Well he's responsible for ensuring that Konoha saw Naruto as quite possibly the furthest thing from hero as you can get."

"What?" Minato asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Something tells me we're not getting out of this alive Hiruzen." Enma told his partner.


	68. Invasion 4

_In regards to my Best Author poll, I've decided to extend it's time up until 1,000 people vote._

Chapter 68 Invasion 4

Kushina grabbed her husband's hand tenderly. "Minato, I'm afraid we don't have time to explain everything, so to summarize, Konoha disregarded your last wish and it's all thanks to Sarutobi."

The Sandaime Hokage was quite nervous now but avoided showing it. Only one thing was keeping him from surrendering. 'Here I've been fighting three sannin, a kage, and Kushina. All this time they could have attacked together and finished me off at any moment, and yet they haven't. All they've been doing is wearing me out. Were they waiting for this? Why? Why make Minato finish me off instead if they're the ones out for my blood? This can only mean... they brought back Minato for a different reason. I better get rid of him first. If Konoha saw the Yondaime resurrected yet fighting for the enemy, it would demoralize us for years to come. Wait, is that why they brought him back?'

Minato looked at the older man. "Sarutobi, what does that mean?" His tone was uncertain, yet close to being threatening.

"They're lying to you Minato. They're turned traitor and are just making up gibberish to get you to betray the village you love so much."

Kushina shook her head as if disappointed by hearing this. "Minato, you trust me right?"

"Of course Kushina."

"Then trust me when I say this man here deserves to die. In our absence he's turned Konoha into a cesspool and made our sacrifice meaningless. Our son isn't even able to live here anymore. If there's anyone I want dead more than Madara Uchiha, it's Sarutobi."

Needless to say Minato was surprised to hear his wife say this. "You want me to help you kill Sarutobi? How do I know this isn't some kind of trick and you're some kind of enemy in disguise?"

"I first said I loved you after you rescued me from Kumo and complimented my hair. I first kissed you when you made chuunin and kicked the ass of that Iwa nin who had been hitting on me. And I first told you about the kyuubi the day you 'accidentally' got to second base." Kushina told him.

"Mom! I'm right here you know!" Naruto said, bothered to hear that about his parents.

"Sorry Naruto." Kushina said with mirth, showing she enjoyed embarrassing her son a little.

"Naruto?" Minato asked, looking at his no longer infant son who had a snake on his shoulders. "How old are you now?"

"Thirteen Dad. But we need to save the catching up for later. Right now we're in a fight and we need your help."

* * *

Seeing the two transformed girls unsettled the Hyuugas, and they were even more unsettled when their byakugans told them this was no mere illusion. They had truly changed shape.

Hitmi almost laughed at the gaping faces of her former clan. "Surprised? Say hello to our village's secret weapon."

"Your village has shapeshifters? Impossible."

"And yet you see two right before your all-seeing eyes." Hitomi added.

Hinata then jumped into the air, her wings flapping keeping her up. "And this isn't just for show either." With her lips hardened like a beak, she kept making clicking sounds when she spoke.

Hizashi looked worried, but he soon confidently smiled. "Nice intimidation ploy, but I see a huge flaw in it. The bird girl cannot attack and keep her distance at the same time or else she would have done it by now. The fact that I'm still standing here talking proves that. And the fish girl looks like she won't last long outside water. So Hitomi, you're the only real threat here and you're too outnumbered to significantly harm us first. The way I see it, you've lost."

"And that's exactly what we wanted you to see." Hitomi stated.

Before anyone could speak, a bunch of pipes burst in the area, spraying water all over the place. Isaribi used her chakra to hold it all in place and form a gigantic water prison containing them all while Hinata hovered outside the aqua dome.

'Did they set up some bombs on the pipes timed or triggered for this moment just for this purpose?' Hizashi asked himself, holding his breath and struggling in the water.

Isaribi and Hitomi looked at each other with light grins. Hitomi nodded then suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke, sending a small wave thru the water with her removal.

"Where did she go?" One fo the Hyuugas asked before realizing talking underwater wasn't a good idea.

Isaribi heard the question clearly but didn't respond. Instead she moved thru the water like a fish. Or to be more precise, like a shark given the fact she had her mouth open ready to bite. The Hyuuga got ready to hit her tenketsu, since the juuken could still work underwater albeit much slower. He hit her shoulders but she hit him too, biting his left forearm hard enough to snap the bone and draw blood.

Another Hyuuga saw this and panicked. 'I'm outta here.' He tried swimming out of the water prison. The Water Prison technique usually worked two ways; either it was small yet pressured enough that the captive could barely move, or large and unpressured so the captive could move yet something else, usually something dangerous, could be in the water with them. This one used here was the second type, so the Hyuugas could swim out if they could reach the edge.

Isaribi ignored him so he reached the barrier and took a breath. His vision was blurred thanks to some water in his eyes and his byakugan wasn't active, but he could sense a sudden shadow appear. Before he could really see the light-blocker, he felt a slash across his eyes. "AAAGH!" Screaming in utter agony, his hand covered his wound, and he tried to activate his byakugan, only to discover he couldn't. He was blind, and bleeding heavily.

Hizashi saw what happened with his byakugan. 'Clever. The fish girl attacks us within the water, but if we leave the bird girl attacks us from there and can even rip our eyes out with her claws. Blind or drowned, what a choice.'

* * *

'What do I do?' Shikamaru asked himself. 'I could easily capture the snake lady with my shadow given her limbs are all over the place, but that will leave me open to the one behind me. And if I target her instead, I'm still vulnerable to the snake lady who may have a sneak attack up her sleeve. Sad fact is, that's actually my best chance here given she likely needs that leg to keep standing. I better go with the second option.'

"If it's not too much trouble, could you tell me exactly why your village is trying to destroy ours?" Shikamaru asked. "What did we ever do to you?"

"Who said we came here to destroy?" Kurenai asked above a whisper.

"What?" The Nara heir asked, not expecting that answer.

"I don't recall anyone ever saying we wanted to wipe Konoha off the map."

"Then why are you doing this?" Shikamaru repeated, a little anger in his voice.

"Me personally? Because my kage says your village needs a gigantic kick in the ass and I agree. As for him personally, that's not for me to say." Kurenai then pulled back and stepped away. "Oh, and in case you can't comprehend this, I'm well aware you've got me in your shadow. To get out, all I have to do is one thing. Would you like to see it?"

A chakra-infused trench kunai flew past the Oto kunoichi, cutting off some of her hair. "Get the hell away from my student!" Asuma yelled.

Kurenai smirked, only able to look at Asuma because Shikamaru turned his head that way too. "Tell him to release me and I'd be glad to. As long as he has me snared like this, I'm afraid I'm incapable of granting your request."

"Asuma-sensei, worry about the others too. They could be close to death by now." Shikamaru shouted.

He was right. Ino, Chouji, and Tenten were running out of air and their vision was starting to go black. Tenten used her free arm to try stabbing Anko's limb with a kunai but the snake summoner wouldn't let go. Ino was trying to use her clan's mind tricks again but she couldn't properly aim and there was no way she was going to repeat trying to get inside her head.

Pulling out his trench knives, Asuma faced Anko while keeping Kurenai in his sight. "Shikamaru, keep that one busy while I fight this one."

"No problem." Shikamaru replied.

"Yes problem." Kurenai joked as she activated her second stage.

* * *

Chouza and Shukaku were at it like two gigantic sumo wrestlers. At their feet the smaller forces were fighting too, though they couldn't help looking at the giants on occasion.

'Damn, this thing's like fighting a monster.' Chouza told himself as he strained to hold back the sand construct. It was harder for him because Shukaku's body was denser and had the advantage of having claws to grip with. Even with his chakra-reinforced muscles those claws hurt.

Acting on impulse Chouza cocked his head back then slammed his head into Shukaku's. The giant tanuki was dazed and his grip loosened, while Gaara was moved to a safer location to avoid being caught in the crossfire. In that brief moment Chouza broke away and took a step back. He cocked his fist and fired a hard solid punch right to the bijuu's jaw, hoping it would further slow down the giant demon. But to the Akimichi leader's shock, Shukaku caught his fist. With his mouth.

"Let go of my hand!" Chouza demanded, trying to get free but the tanuki wasn't listening. Then he bit down, severing his right hand from his arm. "AAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Chouza screamed, pulling back with his left hand trying to apply pressure to stop the bleeding. The pain of the injury affected his jutsu and forced him to return to normal size again.

"Chouza!" Inoichi shouted as he approached his wounded friend and pulled out some medical wrap. "Here, let me help stop the bleeding."

"Don't forget the enemy Inoichi." Chouza said, then saw his now normal size removed hand fall to the ground in front of him. "I sure hope this can be reattached. Got a sealing scroll?"

"I'm on it." The Yamanaka leader said as he went to get the hand. Shukaku's footstep stopped him, since the bijuu stepped right on the severed hand without even realizing it. 'Apparently _he's_ on it instead.' Then its tail hit the ground hard sending a shockwave throughout the area knocking many people off their feet or out of the trees.

The shockwave broke Shikaku's concentration when he was about to trap Kankuro in his shadow so the puppet user remained free and his karasu shot out a few poisoned senbon. They struck some Anbu who wouldn't feel the effect right away but would be no threat when they did.

Temari was beating back a few more Anbu with her fan, now being assisted by Baki in the process. "What took you so long Sensei?"

"I was busy taking care of the Anbu in other places. But once I saw the shukaku I figured that was my signal to make sure you three were still breathing. Reinforcements shouldn't be far behind me."

Temari looked behind her and saw a wave of Suna Anbu coming to their aid. She was slightly disappointed that Naruto wasn't with them. 'Ruto-kun, stay safe for me.'

* * *

Kakashi was still in a tight spot, but he had an idea that he thought just might work. What he did was create a single shadow clone. 'Two against two are better odds, and my odds improve more if the clone fights the wood user instead of the bone user. I'd rather just leave, but if they're looking for a specific person, my best way to help out is keeping them away from said person.'

With that, the real Kakashi charged towards Kimimaro while the clone went towards Yamato, both armed with chidoris. The clone wouldn't last long after doing one of those but it wouldn't need to if it hit the wood user rather than the wood.

The clone was quickly getting closer to Yamato, lightning blade ready to pierce. Yamato formed a hand sign and something wooden covered his frontside and took on his image. Then it broke free from him, creating a wood clone that got right in front of Kakashi's clone and took the hit for the real Yamato. The impact of the attack destroyed the wood clone and the lack of chakra to continue made Kakashi's clone dispel.

Meanwhile, the real Kakashi was close to striking Kimimaro. The white-haired Kaguya just stood there like Kakashi was a mere fly pretending to be a bee. He reached behind himself and winced a small bit. "Dance of the Clematis: Vine." With that, he quickly pulled out his spinal column and used it like a whip to hit Kakashi.

Without his sharingan, Kakashi wasn't able to see the attack given using the chidori now gave him tunnel vision. The bone whip struck his side and made him skid across the ground for a moment but he stopped himself and got back on his feet, holding the cut he now had on his left abdominal area. 'Did he just rip his spine out of his body? How could he still be able to stand and move with that body part taken out? Medically it's impossible... unless his spinal nerves are still connected and a new set of vertebrae have already grown in the original's place.'

"Dance of the Clematis: Flower." Kimimaro added, bone armor sprouting from his left arm and spiraling together to create a flower-like shield encompassing his entire arm and tipped with a point. Yamato got beside his ally, hands ready to make his next jutsu.

Kakashi didn't like his odds here. 'This is out of my league. I can't face them both on my own for much longer, but maybe I can do one more thing before I retreat.' He started a long set of handsigns, and saw Yamato was starting a long but different set too. "Earth Style Earth Dragon Jutsu." He said as he finished and pressed his hand on the ground.

"Wood Style Forest Dragon Jutsu." Yamato said at the same time with his own hand being pressed to the ground.

In front of Kakashi the earth rose up and took on the form of a serpentine dragon ready to attack whatever was in front of it. In front of Yamato a nearly identical dragon made of wood and sprouting some branches and leaves, like a tree, came out of the ground too. The two draconian constructs stared at each other, and then lunged at each other like angry cobras. Neither one had an apparent elemental advantage over the other, and the clash of the two combined with constricting and biting tore the two to pieces.

"You're good, I'll give you that." Yamato told Kakashi. "But I bet having your sharingan gone has greatly affected you Copycat Kakashi."

"Not so much I can't keep fighting you." Kakashi claimed. "But why are you after the man you're after?"

"Why should we tell you?" Kimimaro calmly asked back. "All you need to know is we are."

Before more fighting could continue, a new figure jumped into the area, facing Yamato and Kimimaro and away from Kakashi. They wore a normal Konoha Anbu outfit but the mask was blank, pure white, and a hood concealed the person's hair. "Kimimaro-sama, Yamato-sama, the hideout of Danzou-san has been located. Please follow me."

The two Oto nin were surprised, as was Kakashi, but Kimimaro looked right at the silver-haired Konoha nin as he recalled the bones on his arm back into his body. "Be grateful we have no further business with you Hatake-san. Now we're going after our true target."

"Not if I sto-" Kakashi said, but nonetheless the three in front of him shushined away, preventing him from doing anything more. Seeing a discarded bone, he got an idea and summoned Pakkun.

"What's up Kakashi?" The pug casually asked.

"I need you to track the scent of the person this belonged to if you can." The former Anbu said, showing the finger bone Kimimaro had used not long ago.

"Whoever lost this must be in pain." Pakkun commented before sniffing it. "The scent is too faint and unspecific. I doubt any canine could track it. You'd be better off with an Aburame for this."

"Looks like I'll have to find them the old fashioned way." Kakashi said before sending Pakkun home and heading out to see how else he could defend Konoha.

* * *

"So what should we do now?" Sasame asked as she and her teammates got away from the Anbu. Right now the three kunoichi were standing atop a building watching the invasion play out. They could see the purple barrier close to the stadium, small explosions in random spots, and even Shukaku fight in the distance.

"Part of me wants to go help my fellow jinchuuriki, but my cautious side says two of us fighting in one spot might cause more trouble." Fuu mentioned.

"We should keep up our objective and keep the village defense occupied and away from our forces." Haku offered. "But where can we do the most damage?"

"Would you like a hand?" An approaching voice asked.

"Subsonic-san? What are you doing here?" Sasame asked.

"Just finishing up some personal business. Now I'm itching to get some tension out of my system. And I know just where to do it."

"Where?" The three genin kunoichi asked.

Subsonic smirked under her mask. "We've got forces handling the hokage and forces handling the Anbu. Some forces are trying to find a dirty rat named Danzou. He's going to be hard to find, but fortunately in my time here I've learned where his hidden base is. Want to help me storm the place?"

"How did you find it?" Haku asked.

"Technically, I didn't." Subsonic said, confusing the girls. "Oh you didn't know? My line of work allowed me to get access to a good number of the ninja here, but I didn't work alone. Like Jiraiya-sama, I had agents scattered to help me. Oto has it's own spy network here in Konoha, with me as the acting head and messenger."

"So there's more than one Subsonic?" Sasame asked.

"Oh no, not at all. I'm the only Subsonic. But I do have helpers, and right now they should be making things difficult for Konoha."

"Who are they?"

"You'll find out later. Now let's go see what they found." Subsonic said before leaving, and the three kunoichi followed.

* * *

The Hyuugas were getting desperate. They couldn't hold their breath much longer but each time any of them went to get out of the water bubble Hinata was right there to blind them. And that was if Isaribi herself couldn't get to them first. They had been there less than two minutes and already the water was quite bloody.

Now that didn't matter. The trapped Hyuugas were running out of air and the need to breathe was overpowering all other cognitive functions. All the Hyuugas that could still move were swimming in all different directions, hoping that the two transformed girls couldn't target them all this way. Fortunately they were right, since they outnumbered the Oto genin six to one. Isaribi could only stop one of them while Hizashi and ten others managed to get some air, and Hinata could only target one of them. So with that, Hizashi and nine others got out of the water prison jutsu, coughing heavily.

From behind them, the water prison exploded like a bomb, sending a strong wave of water at their disoriented backsides and pushing them forward. Right into the walls and railings of the surrounding area. A recovering Neji who had been trying to get back to help his clansmen had been hit by the wave too and sent back over the railing again.

When Hizashi and the others recovered, they saw Hinata perched on the railing like a bird and Isaribi recollecting water near herself but not covered in it. "What do you want with us?" He asked, showing a little fear for once.

With Hinata's beak-mouth it was hard to tell if she was smiling, but her eyes showed a hint of mirth. "Nothing, except for you to not interfere in the rest of our army. We knew your group would prioritize claiming me over defending your home so we put up a struggle and kept you from doing your duty to protect Konoha."

"Your village is falling and you did nothing to stop it because you're more concerned about that power desire you have." Isaribi added.

"You don't honestly think this is the entire Hyuuga clan do you? Others are fighting in the battle as we speak!" One of the other Hyuuga shouted.

"Oh we know. But as long as you're here and not out there, you can't guide them during this." Hinata answered, then flexed her talons. "Or after."

"You really plan to kill us?" Hizashi asked.

"No she doesn't." A Hyuuga woman bleeding from her arms and left leg stated. "If they really did intend that we wouldn't be here talking about it."

"On the contrary. We just wanted to give you the honor of last words." Isaribi countered. "Have any?"

"There's no way you're going to kill us!" One of the still able-bodied Hyuuga declared as he got back on his feet and charged. Hinata got off her perch and next thing anyone knew she was a blur that reappeared behind him and he stopped in his tracks. He twitched slightly and his mouth was open in a silent shout before blood erupted from his midsection and the top half of his body fell off his bottom half.

Stunned by this, some other Hyuuga found the strength to try and attack Hinata too. She repeated her strange maneuver and even cleaved four in a row this way. The others got wise and chose to try and flee, but Isaribi pounced and bit one of them on the throat. He died soon, but three others managed to get away unscathed and ran for a safe location, leaving only Hizashi left to face the transformed girls who turned their sights on him.

"Why us? Why do you hate our clan so much?" Hizashi asked, hoping his son wouldn't get involved.

"Oh I don't. But this isn't about me." Isaribi said, returning to her human form.

Hinata was returning as well, but she looked full of repressed anger waiting to burst forth like a volcano. "Why do I hate the Hyuuga so much? I have my reasons. Reasons I do not wish to explain. All you need to know is your so-called honorable clan acted criminal to me and those closest to me, and this is karmic retribution. I'm sending a message to your enslaving, child-beating, two-faced self-destructive clan. That message being you can't get away with being cruel forever."

"But... but I was never like that." Hizashi defended. "I was once part of the branch family. I know full well how abusive the Hyuuga clan can be to others. Believe me, I understand exactly what you're mad about. But I've been changing everything in them. If you kill me, it will all be undone and they will revert back to their old habits."

Hinata stayed in her spot, but she did not look pacified. "You wish me to believe that the only thing that stands between the Hyuuga and criminal behavior is you and the laws of Konoha?"

"I wouldn't put it that way." Hizashi said.

"But your point is that the Hyuuga clan will only behave when someone with rank over them is watching, and once they can't then the clan will do as it pleases." The byakugan-wielding girl told her biological uncle, though she didn't care at all how they were related.

Hizashi gained a tired expression. "You're convinced my clan has no honor aren't you?" At this point he was tired of defending his case in a futile argument, but he was hoping to delay her long enough to buy time for back-up to arrive.

"What honor is there in beating someone under the age of four until they have bruises and calling it training? What honor is there in poisoning a pregnant woman about to give birth? What honor is there in turning your own relatives into slaves and threatening them with death or agony when they ask to be treated like human beings?"

Hizashi was silent, unable to refute two of the claims. There had been times when some Hyuuga masked child abuse as training and were put to death when the child itself came close to it, and the Caged Bird Seal was pretty much a poorly disguised tool of torture. But the part about the pregnant woman was news to him. "I admit the Hyuuga are not perfect. No clan is. But there's no way any of us would poison a preg-" He was silenced by a kunai thrown into his throat.

"Oh? And why exactly did Hitomi Hyuuga disappear?" Hinata asked.

"Let's go before someone gets here." Isaribi suggested. Hinata nodded and the two shushined away.

Unable to attack them now, a recovering Neji immediately moved to his dying father. "Otou-san!" He could tell from the wound that Hizashi wasn't going to live much longer whether or not the kunai was removed. If anything it was a miracle he wasn't dead right then.

Hizashi lifted his fingers and dabbed them in his blood before writing something on the ground for Neji.

'1439.'

Then he went limb.

* * *

Shikamaru felt his shadow hold on Kurenai be... ripped apart was the best way to describe it. 'Something about her new chakra is counteracting my own. I can't maintain my hold on her anymore.' He pulled his shadow back and stepped back too to be closer to his sensei in anticipation of what she might do.

Kurenai's mark spread over her skin and her body began to transform. At first, her skin just looked like it was hardening, forming a shell of sorts but not an exoskeleton since there were no joints or gaps in the shell. Her hair condensed and solidified into a set of spikes on her head like gigantic quills or Jiraiya's Hari Jizo Jutsu. Her skin and eyes turned dark blue almost indigo and reflected light like a gemstone. Overall, she looked like she had turned into a human sapphire dressed in a bandage-style outfit.

Kurenai smiled and flexed her fingers, which now ended in points much like her hair. And while not sharp, they didn't look harmless. Testing to see if this was just a genjutsu, Asuma tried a genjutsu release, only to see no change. Still desperate, he threw a chakraless kunai and Kurenai batted it away with her hand. A clanking sound was heard when the metal knife collided with her crystal appendage.

"In case you're still in denial, this is real. As real as my friend over there."

"No need to hurry Nai-chan. I'm sure these kids won't last much longer anyway." Anko called out.

Asuma looked over and saw that Ino, Chouji, and Tenten indeed would not last much longer if they didn't get free of Anko's strangling. But the weird thing was he suspected Anko wasn't really trying to kill them. A real snake, like a python for example, could kill a person in seconds by constricting the neck if it tried, so she should have been able to kill three genin several times by now. This felt more like she was keeping them as hostages instead.

"What do you want from us?" Asuma asked Kurenai, hoping his hostage idea was correct and he could bargain or trick the kunoichi into releasing the genin. Even so he held up a new trench knife that he put his wind chakra into, giving it a sharper edge.

"What do we want? Well I could ask you and those you know to simply withdraw from the fight and leave us alone, or give us information on someone we're looking for, but I highly doubt you'll do either. So how about this instead? You spread a message for me."

"A message?" Asuma asked. Shikamaru was confused too.

"Yes, a message. Something that all of Konoha needs to know when this is over."

"And what message is that?" The former member of the Guardian Twelve suspiciously asked.

Kurenai smirked. "You'll know when the time comes. Bye." She then left by jumping over the ledge to go elsewhere. Anko saw this and released her captives, who fell on their butts gasping for air as she followed her good friend.

Asuma immediately checked on his students and Tenten with Shikamaru's help. But Kurenai's words haunted him. 'I'll know when the time comes? What does that mean?'

* * *

The older Ino-Shika-Chou Trio and their support were surrounded by a group of Suna shinobi and their released bijuu. Many of the Suna nin looked apprehensive being in the vicinity of Shukaku, but as long as the tanuki didn't attack them they weren't going to draw attention to themselves.

Inoichi and Shikaku looked the freshest and most able to fight, while Chouza and the others looked like they needed to get to the hospital before they fought any more. Shikaku's mind was working a mile a minute right then. 'I have two options. I can try and trap them all and hope Inoichi can attack them all quickly, or we can surrender and hope they're not here just to kill us all. It's troublesome, but I think I know which one I should try.'

"I don't suppose you'd let us surrender would you?" Shikaku said when he fell onto a knee, looking like he was running low on stamina now.

"Not really. We're not here for a senseless slaughter, but we're not interested in prisoners either." Baki told the Nara head.

This confused Shikaku. "You're not trying to kill us or take prisoners? Then why in Kami's name are you attacking our village?"

"For the most part, we're trying to make a point to Konoha's leadership as well as improve our chances of getting more business in the future." A different Suna nin answered. "Konoha's been taking a lot of our jobs from us and unless we do something about it your village is going to bleed us dry. Would you do anything different if the situation was reversed?"

"I can understand the business part. That's understandable. But what this 'point' you claim you're trying to make?" Inoichi asked.

"Kazekage-sama is doing that for us, so you don't need us to tell you."

By now Shikaku was finished looking over the area and preparing his jutsu. "Shadow Branching Trap Jutsu." On the ground his shadow sprouted multiple limbs and quickly sprang out to ensnare all the surrounding Suna nin. Temari and Kankuro got out of the way and into the trees, but the rest didn't and were forced to stand in place. "Jutsu Success. Get 'em Inoichi."

The Yamanaka head tried to prepare his own jutsu, but was halted by a sudden gust of wind coming from Temari. Shikaku's shadow kept its hold but now he was worried his partner wouldn't succeed in a follow-up maneuver. A rumble on the ground told them that Shukaku was coming closer, ready to do some serious damage even if the Suna nin couldn't.

Despite his wound, Chouza was in no mood to stand back and do nothing. "Full Body Expansion Jutsu." He regrew back to giant size and faced the ichibi again.

Regaining his bearings, Inoichi started his jutsu again before someone could interfere. "Mind Distortion Jutsu." This was one of the few multi-target techniques the Yamanaka had, allowing him to affect everyone within a small radius, just big enough to affect everyone Shikaku had trapped. It wouldn't hurt them, just give them what felt like a sudden hangover at full power. The only downside would be Shikaku would be affected too and thus the shadow jutsu would be undone, and normally that would be when Chouza would demolish them before they recovered, so now Inoichi would have to fight on his own.

The jutsu took affect and everyone around Inoichi was stricken with the worst headache they ever had without alcohol being involved. Shikaku released his jutsu involuntarily as expected and he and the others collapsed holding their heads. Before any could try to recover or ignore the effects, Inoichi pulled out two longer than standard kunai and rushed to the closest Suna nin, which happened to be Baki.

Too dazed to properly defend himself, the half-masked Suna nin was about to be sliced in a lethal area. Has Kankuro's puppet not intercepted and taken the hit for him. 'Damn, those two genin were outside my jutsu's range. But I can still take them.' He used his first long kunai to break karasu's mouth and damage the senbon launcher and his second weapon he kept at bay. A wise choice, as karasu swung its arm revealing a blade Inoichi had to block with his own.

Temari tried to sneak up on the blonde jounin and hit him in the head, but he heard her and ducked. In the process karasu's arm got free and continued its swing, so the blade ended up cutting Temari above her breasts under her collarbone. Seeing the wound, Kankuro withdrew his puppet and immediately approached his sister."Oh crap oh crap oh crap." He kept saying, knowing his weapons were poisoned and if Temari died there'd be three people ready to beat him to a pulp for it. "Hang in there Neesan." He said reaching into his pockets for the antidote.

Inoichi did another hand sign. "Mind Destruction Jutsu." He aimed this one at Temari, causing her to become catatonic for a time before she sprang up to her feet.

"What the? What are you doing to her?" Kankuro asked.

"I'm fighting a puppet user with a puppet. But mine's harder for you to hurt."

Kankuro had the advantage of being the more experienced puppet user in this fight, but Inoichi had the advantage of having a puppet Kankuro didn't want to attack. Not only that, but Shikaku was already on his way to recovering while the Suna nin would need more time. Shikaku had been exposed to this method before and expected it so naturally he had a quicker recovery time than first time victims. Kankuro's only back-up was Gaara and Shukaku and both of them were fighting the one-handed Chouza who was amazingly holding his own against the sand tanuki.

It wasn't going to last long. Shukaku was a chakra monster and Chouza had lost a fair amount of blood already. Not to mention Shukaku had more to attack with, and now was trying to crush the Akimichi head with his tail by wrapping it around his midsection. The pressure of the tail was making it difficult for Chouza to breathe, but he pushed on like he was trying to shove the bijuu out of the village. Strange thing was, he was little by little close to succeeding, although Shukaku had little problem pushing back, creating a standstill.

All the while Gaara did nothing, using most of his energy and focus just to help maintain Shukaku's body while being alert so he could get rid of it before the bijuu decided he wanted more targets than allowed. If he could he'd attack Chouza with Shukaku or leave to help his siblings, but this was all he could do.

Shukaku meanwhile didn't mind that. He was loose and permitted to kill, and this large Konoha nin had offered himself up to the slaughter. In no real hurry to get his fun over with, the ichibi enjoyed making the Akimichi struggle first, but now he was getting bored. "You bore me Konoha nin. Time to end this and get me some more blood." The tanuki said.

"Over my dead body." Chouza said.

"I agree completely." Shukaku said before he opened his mouth wide and lunged forward, his mouth locking down over Chouza's head. The gigantic ninja tried to get the bijuu to let go, but Shukaku clamped down and next thing he knew, Chouza was headless.

There was a lot of blood from the wound before Chouza's body fell down and shrank back to it's original size, luckily doing so before it hit the ground. The blood didn't as quickly so the ninja in the area were covered in it. Inoichi froze and looked up, not seeing his old friend anymore. Shikaku looked up too only to not see Chouza fighting the sand construct. At that time Inoichi's hold over Temari broke and she collapsed. Taking the opportunity, Kankuro got to her and injected her with the antidote before it did anything worse than it already had.

"Chouza!" The Yamanaka and Nara shouted when they realized what happened. The Suna nin were starting to get back to their feet, but the Konoha nin had something more important to them on their minds. Wanting to get to their comrade ASAP, Inoichi threw a paper bomb kunai to the ground and helped Shikaku leave with him.

Kankuro saw the waiting explosive and knew he couldn't get everyone out of there in time. Unable to choose which ones to save, he grabbed Temari and prepared to at least save her. He got back but then Shukaku's arm thrust down and covered the explosive, taking the hit. Sand was blown everywhere, but no one died.

"Damn, I missed them." Shukaku said, aiming for Inoichi and Shikaku at the time.

* * *

Sasame, Haku, and Fuu followed Subsonic to a currently unoccupied section of Konoha's protective wall. When they got there, three people showed up, looking like they were expecting the quartet of kunoichi. They were dressed like Anbu but they all had blank masks, hoods, and long sleeves. So like Subsonic, they displayed no identifying characteristics.

"Ah Subsonic-sama, glad to see you made it." The center one greeted. At that moment Yamato and Kimimaro showed up, following a fourth masked ninja.

"Great timing Yamato-san and Kimimaro-san. And hello Bass, Sharp, Flat, and Tenor. You certain this is the entry point?" Subsonic greeted back.

All four nodded. "Indeed. We've seen some ninja go in and out here including Danzou himself. This is the place."

"Good. Let's see if the guy's down there."

"Umm... Subsonic-san, there's nothing here." Sasame pointed out.

"Watch and learn." The former Uchiha matriarch told the orange-haired girl.

The masked nin dubbed Bass by Subsonic went to the wall and pulled out a small block that normally looked like a mere part of the wall. When he pulled it out, it turned out it was connected to some kind of mechanism and he rotated it like a key. When he turned it 180 degrees he put it back in place. Suddenly a previously invisible door opened on the wall revealing a corridor that led into the wall and under it.

"Wow." The kunoichi genin said.

"No time to admire the craftmanship. There's likely to be an alert system." The masked nin Subsonic called Sharp said as Bass, Flat, and Tenor went into the doorway. Subsonic joined them with her remaining helper and Sasame, Haku, and Fuu followed. As if on a timer, the door closed automatically.


	69. Invasion 5

_Everyone, my Best Author poll is officially closed. Check my profile for the list of results, which include all the write-in votes I've received. Writer Zentary still has his own poll up and Ilovebashing is starting one of his own (and taking more names as well) if you wish to vote in another poll. _

_I have started a new poll which asks what is the best Naruto story available here instead of the best author. Please take the time to vote in that too, and if you wish to submit write-in votes for it, PM me the nominations._

Chapter 69 Invasion 5

Hiruzen Sarutobi was a veteran of several battles and even a war. He donned the hokage hat and role twice, taught the three sannin, and had faced the kyuubi itself and lived to tell about it. So naturally he was not a man who feared much, even death. But facing Minato in his prime while he was accompanied by his own students, Minato's wife, and the kazekage all at once, that would make even Hanzou of Ame sweat nervously. He only had one hope to get out of this alive.

"Minato, don't believe the lies these people are trying to feed you. They've become corrupt and dangerous. They're just trying to use you to do something you _know_ you don't want to do. Stop them before they destroy Konoha, before they destroy everything you ever cared about."

Naturally Minato did not know what to do. On the one hand, his predecessor, a man he knew to be honorable, was telling him that his wife, sensei, and two other sannin along with his now teenage son, had turned traitor and wanted to obliterate Konoha. But on the other hand, Kushina and Jiraiya, two more people he knew were trustworthy and honorable, were out for Sarutobi's blood and they weren't the only ones. Neither situation made any sense to him and he knew he was expected to choose one to fight on. The problem was which side had the more honest claim?

The more he thought about it, the less certain he was.

"Minato, we know you're uncertain, but you must believe me, that man is the true corrupt and dangerous one." Kushina told her husband. "And we're not asking you to destroy Konoha."

"You're not?" Sarutobi asked, not expecting that.

"Nope. In fact, now we've got plenty of time to tell him the truth of the matter." Orochimaru stated confidently.

Sarutobi did not like the sound of that and began another jutsu. Before he finished, he heard one being called out. "Metal Style Steel Prison Jutsu." Dozens of metal poles burst from the ground surrounding the old hokage and twisted and bent to create what looked like an oversized birdcage with no door.

"What on earth is this?" Sarutobi asked.

"It's exactly what it looks like." Naruto answered.

Jiraiya came up to his revived student. "Minato, now we can tell you exactly what has been going on in your absence."

"You know nothing! You're all biased and self-serving!" Sarutobi angrily shouted.

Kushina held her sword against his neck. "And you aren't? Be silent you fool, or my blade will cut you, and you know what will happen to you if that happens." She then faced Jiraiya. "Please continue Jiraiya-sama."

Sarutobi really wanted to stop this, but Kushina's sword really frightened him since he knew full well what it could do to a person. And since Enma knew too, he was unlikely to act instead.

Jiraiya looked at Minato, looking to the former hokage just like he did when the sage became his sensei. "Minato, what would you say if I told you that Konoha completely disregarded your final wish, and Sarutobi not only encouraged it, but was downright responsible for it?"

Minato looked surprised yet skeptical. "I'd say tell me more."

* * *

Down under Konoha, Subsonic's group and Kurenai's students were walking down a hidden hallway. There didn't seem to be any alarms or traps going off, and that made Fuu uncomfortable.

"Why would there be something like this here but no defense to it? Is this an escape tunnel or something?"

"It's the hiding area of someone trying to turn Konoha into their puppet. There were defenses but we worked during the finals to disarm them." One of Subsonic's aides answered. This one was Bass, and their voice was clearly male.

"Could we see who you four really are? So we could feel safer around you?" Fuu asked, one of her childhood defense mechanisms flaring up right then. She couldn't trust someone she didn't know the face of.

"I'm afraid not." Subsonic answered for them. "My identity has been compressed. I can't stay in Konoha any longer, so they will have to work in my place. So they need to remain masked, even here."

Fuu didn't like it, but she knew better than to argue against Subsonic. The woman had been very helpful to her when she was younger and trying to adjust to the differences between Oto and Taki. The last thing Fuu ever wanted to do was displease those she was grateful to.

"What's at the end here?" Sasame asked.

"A large room, and if we're lucky Danzou will be there hiding and instructing his servants in what to do. He could be hiding elsewhere, but that room's the best place for him to correspondent with his private army." The masked one called Tenor answered, their voice female.

"If he's not, we'll be at the heart of his organization and can still cripple the cripple." Sharp added, laughing that their own joke, their voice male.

"If the guy wasn't a warmongering threat to us all I'd say that was uncalled for." Flat, another female, told Sharp.

Suddenly there was a barrage of senbon shooting at them from all sides. Above, below, left, and right. It was like something out of an Indian Jones movie where he stepped on a trigger to a temple track. Fuu immediately shrank to avoid being hit and Sasame and Haku jumped backwards to escape the target zone. Subsonic and her helpers however moved like a well-trained unit to deflect the multiple needles from all directions so none would hit them.

"Impressive." Haku said, seeing them move. "It's like they've been preparing for specifically this for a long time."

"I think they have." Sasame commented. "As spies, they must always be ready to defend themselves if caught."

The attack stopped quickly and no one looked hurt. Even so the masked ninja made sure to check for any injuries just in case. Seeing none, they considered themselves in the clear. Fuu returned to normal size and they continued down the corridor.

* * *

Minato, having heard the story from Jiraiya, turned to Sarutobi with a murderous gaze. "What the hell were you thinking Sarutobi?"

The old man glared back at the revived hokage. "I don't have to justify myself to the dead."

"Does he look dead?" Orochimaru asked.

"I know this jutsu. Tobirama-sensei created it. You temporarily bring the dead back to life by killing someone else first as a sort of sacrifice and then you control the resurrected person like a puppet but they fight with the skills they had in life."

Orochimaru smiled. "Very good Sarutobi-sensei, but you're not entirely accurate. You said 'temporarily', but we didn't."

"What are you trying to say? You can't mean you made the jutsu permanent." Sarutobi said in denial with a bit of fear.

Everyone except Minato smiled. "Oh but we do old man. Minato Namikaze is completely resurrected thanks to us."

"H-h-how is that possible?" Sarutobi fearfully asked, knowing if Minato chose to fight no one in Konoha could stop him.

"That's none of your business old man. Now, before Minato kills you for your crimes against his son, the son he wanted Konoha to see as a hero for keeping the kyuubi at bay, tell him exactly why you decided it was better to turn Konoha against him."

Enma returned to his normal form. "I'm sorry Hiruzen, but there's nothing I can do to help you out of this one. I'll go tell your kin of the trou-" He stopped when a sword pierced his backside, the end sticking out thru his breastplate.

"Oh no you don't fleabag. No support for the bastard who wanted my son to be Konoha's punching bag." Kushina said as she withdrew her sword from the monkey summons.

"ENMA!" Sarutobi screamed, already knowing it was too late to help his partner.

Kushina's sword was one of the famous Uzumaki blades, forged with seals inscribed in the metal as it was manufactured, allowing the blade upon completion to have abilities unlike any other blade in the Elemental Nations. Rumor has it that the swords of Kiri's Seven Swordsmen originated from Uzushio, given to the village in an effort to arrange peace between the villages. Kushina, being one of the Uzumaki's, inherited one of the swords not given to Kiri.

Kushina's sword was a pitch black blade named Kurochi, and boy was it deadly. So deadly she only ever used it as a last resort. Whenever it cut living flesh, it emitted a chakra that attacked the target on a cellular level. What it did was destroy the bonds between cells that kept the body solid, thus turning them into liquid. In short, whatever body part it cut melted. The damage worked fast but it rarely spread beyond the cut, and when the wound was located where Enma's was, that was not necessary. Right now his skin, muscles, left lung, and the side of his heart were starting to become blood-colored ooze.

Enma fell to his knees and clutched his frontal wound, already feeling his liquidy insides leak out. He looked up at his summoner fearfully as the hole in his heart pumped out a lot of blood, and then he collapsed, disappearing in a puff of smoke to at least die in his own home.

Sarutobi closed his eyes briefly in mourning. 'Thank you for your help old friend. Rest in peace.' He then looked back at his assailants. "Even if you kill me, you will never escape Konoha's wrath."

"Oh we know that. But we're fully prepared for it. _And_ we won't be alone when they try." Orochimaru grinned.

"Oto has allies after all. Allies Konoha will struggle against." Kazekage pointed out.

"Face it Sensei, you lost in your little scheme." Tsunade told him.

"And you still haven't answered my question." Minato reminded. "Why did you set out to turn Konoha against my son?"

On some level of Sarutobi's mind, he had finally accepted that this was going to be his last stand. With nothing to lose, he got angry and fearless. "It was because I finally had a chance to accomplish my dream of having a personal jinchuuriki subordinate. I tried my hardest to get Kushina under my control during my reign but her damn clan kept interfering. I thought assigning Tsunade to be her sensei would give me a good opportunity, but Tsunade foolishly only made it even harder. It was only after I arranged for her boy-toy to be killed that she finally left Kushina alone, but noooo, you had to be romantically involved with my weapon."

Tsunade tightened her fist at hearing him mention how he caused Dan to die just to make her emotionally compromised. She already knew about this from the files Jiraiya stole, so she didn't shout about it now.

"After that I called it quits for my goal and gave you my mantle in hopes you would use her the way I intended to. But you didn't, and I always thought you were an idiot for that. So when I regained the hokage role and found out Kyuubi had been placed in a new vessel with no one around to claim jurisdiction over it, I knew my chance had finally come. I just needed to keep Tsunade and Jiraiya away from him and keep Konoha from knowing you sired him. So I lied to them both, had Orochimaru do the actual work of keeping Naruto alive, and made sure no one in Konoha would reveal anything about him by making sure they were too scared to try. It was surprisingly easy, though I had Fugaku Uchiha cast a genjutsu over all of Konoha to ensure not one person who didn't already know who he was would see a resemblance to you in your own son and think he was related to you."

'So Mikoto was right, there was a genjutsu involved.' Kushina thought. 'She was out of the village after I went missing looking for me, and Orochimaru-sama was out trying to find Jiraiya-sama and Tsunade-sama, so that's why they weren't affected by it. I wonder how she'll feel to know her own husband was the one to cast it.'

"So why lie about Iwa? Or let people know about Naruto as a jinchuuriki?" Jiraiya asked. "If you really wanted him to be a puppet ninja for you, wouldn't it have been easier to just hide him from everyone yourself and fill his head with whatever you wanted?"

"I already raised and trained two kids while being hokage at the same time, I really wasn't in the mood to do it again. Something had to give, and if I gave up the hokage role I would lose my chance at molding Minato's son into my image. But if he was accepted and loved by the village, he would get too powerful to be controlled by one person."

"That one person being you?" Minato asked.

"Yes, my plan required me to be the highest authority figure in his life, but if he was liked then all clan heads and many civilians would have influence over him and his loyalty would be compromiseable. The solution therefore was to ensure they had no interest in him, and telling everyone he was a jinchuuriki and had no important parents did just that. The Iwa thing was just to silence those that wanted to say otherwise on keeping Naruto's heritage hidden."

The KI aimed at the old man was literally suffocating, but it was clear the ones generating the majority of it were Kushina and Minato. The old man they had once trusted not only their lives, but their son's life as well to, had betrayed their trust, all for the sake of having a jinchuuriki at his beck and call and his call alone. He was like Danzou but with a dream of one ROOT rather than a platoon's worth.

"Here Minato, you might need this." Jiraiya said as he handed his student a tri-kunai. Sarutobi was the only one surprised. "What? You thought all of them were lost with Minato? I've had one on me this whole time as a memento." The sage told his old mentor.

Sarutobi sighed in resignation. "You want to kill me? Fine, go ahead, but Konoha's Will of Fire will not die with me. The people of this village will rise up and withstand your bloodshed, and they will retaliate against your new village eventually. You will not escape justice forever."

"We _are_ justice." The sannin said in unison.

"No, you are vengeance." Their old sensei reprimanded.

"Po-tay-to, po-tah-to." Orochimaru replied.

"So who's going to kill him?" Minato asked.

"We decided to let you and Kushina do that. Naruto can participate too if he wants." Tsunade answered.

"Naw, I'm sure Okaa-san wants this too much for me to take it from her." The young jinchuuriki stated.

"Ready Minato?" Kushina asked.

The Yondaime looked right at the Sandaime, hand gripping his signature weapon tightly. "Yes, let's do this."

Naruto smiled and used his tetsuton to remove the metal bars holding Sarutobi prisoner. "It wouldn't be any fun for them if you couldn't fight back."

"If I'm going down I'm taking you all with me." Sarutobi said, readying himself for one last jutsu.

Minato recognized the complicated pattern of hand signs quickly. It was for summoning the Shinigami, which was only ever done for sealing souls away. Not having any time to ask himself anything, Minato quickly threw his tri-kunai at his predecessor. Chance seemed to be on Minato's side as the weapon hit Sarutobi's hands piercing both and pinning them together, stopping his jutsu and preventing him from doing anything more.

The old man winced from the pain and struggled very briefly to separate his hands, bu the seals for the Hiraishin kicked in and Minato was in his face. The Yondaime punched the Sandaime square in the jaw and followed with a sweep kick to throw him completely off balance. Sarutobi fell backwards and landed on his back, and Kushina appeared right over him before she drove her sword into his eyes, causing cuts on his brain and near instantaneous death for him.

"There, that got him." The redhead said, pleased with her work.

Naruto stood back looking a bit perplexed. "That... was a bit anticlimatic. I kind of expecting this fight to be... well longer and more exciting."

"He was an old man worn out from fighting three sannin in their primes, a kage, and a vengeful mother before this. Frankly there wasn't a lot more he _could_ have done at this point that wouldn't have killed himself." Orochimaru told the young man. "He probably could have done a lot more resisting had we used a different approach here, but with all of us and your parents here and united, he didn't stand a chance."

"You are aware this will create more problems and a power vacuum right?" Minato asked.

"Oh we know. We've resolved one set of problems but created another in their place. Trust us Minato, we wouldn't have done this if we weren't prepared to handle them." Jiraiya told his student.

"And Suna will be there to assist Oto when the time comes." Kazekage added.

"That's good, but how much longer do I have?" Minato asked.

"Probably a good ten years, maybe more, but I wouldn't guarantee it." Orochimaru answered.

"What? What was done to me?" Minato inquired, confused.

"Sorry Minato, but we've got work to do here and we could really use your help. You don't have to kill anyone, just demoralize them. Just remember, as far as Konoha is concerned you never had a son and Naruto was never human." Jiraiya told his resurrected student.

Orochimaru went to the Sound Four. "The job is done. Remove the barrier."

Jirobo, Kidomaru, Sakon and Ukon, and Tayuya nodded and dispelled the barrier that had been keeping several anbu outside. Fortunately they had seen and heard everything so they were conflicted on what to do.

"Yo-Yondaime-sama?" One of the anbu asked.

"Are they on your side?" Minato asked Jiraiya, who shook his head. "In that case if you wish to live you will do nothing to stop us."

"But... but are you really going to turn against Konoha?"

"I'm giving this village a harsh wake-up call. What happens from there is not my concern." The hokage told them without empathy before he and the rest disappeared from sight.

"Should we do something?" One of the anbu nervously asked.

"After seeing all that, you think there's anything we _can_ do?"

* * *

"Danzou-sama, intruders are in the base."

The old warhawk looked marginally surprised. "Well what are you waiting for? An invitation? Eliminate the enemy at once."

"As you wish." The Root nin said with a bit too much mirth for Danzou's liking. Using every reflex he had he managed to dodge a direct sword strike that would have crippled him even further.

"Traitor."

"That would only be true if I was one of your cronies to begin with." The disguised ninja said before several others arrived as back-up.

"Whoever you are, you are fools to try and target me." Danzou confidently claimed despite his slight fear here.

"You may be a powerful old man, but you're still an old man. And you can fall." Subsonic said.

"And you will." Tenor, the one who first tricked him, added, standing in a kenjutsu stance.

Sasame, Haku, and Fuu stood back hidden as back-up and to keep alert for any potential support for Danzou. Haku made it easier by freezing all known ways in and out.

Danzou revealed he had two arms after all, his right arm covered with strange metal guards, and tried doing some hand signs. Before he could finish, a kunai was thrown at his hands and only his left hand was injured by it. He winced but did not cry out in pain. Knowing he couldn't afford to underestimate these ninja, he used his free hand to reveal his hidden sharingan.

"You're going to need more than an eye to survive us." Flat declared.

"I didn't get where I am in life by being feeble. No one can oppose me. No one." Danzou declared.

"Who are you trying to convince criminal, us or you?" Subsonic said, activating her sharingan to prevent any influence over herself. With her eyes natural and not implanted, that was going to give her an advantage over him.

"Doesn't matter, I've already won." Danzou said, quickly revealing his reattached arm and the sharingans implanted.

'Oh crap. Against that many sharingans I'm not sure I'm going to be enough to keep everyone out of trouble. Even Sharp's genjutsus may have difficulty here.' Subsonic thought, briefly uncertain what to do. All of her helpers made sure to look away, but that would give Danzou a slight advantage.

Fuu suddenly got a good idea. "Cover." She took her teammates, who immediately shielded their eyes. "Ninja Art Suncloud Jutsu." She suddenly exhaled a thick mist made of powder that reflected all the light in the room but also provided a small amount of it's own thanks to burning some of the oxygen in the room. Overall, it was a cloud that glowed as bright as the sun and burned anyone close to it.

And it hung right over Danzou and all his revealed eyes.

"AAAAAAAAUUUH!" The thieving warhawk screamed as the blinding light burned the retinas of all his eyes. With all but one being active doujutsu, it hurt even more than normal.

'The greatest weakness of every doujutsu is that in order to do it's job it has to become more perceptive to light and thus more vulnerable to it.' Fuu told herself and she shrunk to insect size and rushed forward. 'He has no choice but to close those eyes and wait for them to handle light again in small doses, and if I'm lucky the pain in his arm from so many hurt eyes will hinder his ability to use the arm period.'

The one downside to Fuu's jutsu was that Subsonic and the others were affected too, temporarily blinded with Subsonic receiving the worst of it.

'I can't see anything.' Danzou said when he tried opening his normal eye, only to see he had gone completely blind. 'And my arm won't move.' Yep, as expected the muscles in his right arm would not cooperate thanks to the fried optic nerves. 'I'm still not out yet.' He said as he grabbed his cane, which was actually a cane sword and unsheathed it, swinging it around in his left hand to keep anyone at bay.

Fortunately for Fuu she was too small for him to hit. Using chakra she ran up his clothes and jumped onto his right arm. 'I sure hope this works.' She said, pulling several paper tags with doujutsu-suppressing seals on them. All the Oto nin had been given these to use on the Hyuuga if confronted or on Sasuke if he somehow happened to gain his sharingan early. The seals had to be applied directly over the eyes and would include blindness and restriction of chakra but only for a single minute being right at application. More than enough time to kill them.

Moving as swiftly as she could, Fuu stuck one seal over each closed eye on Danzou's stiff arm and reached his wrinkled face to do the same to his sharingan there. 'I would get his other too, but I've used enough time already.' She thought before jumping off and regrowing. Not to full size, so she could land a quick chakra-infused kick to his sword and break it, then to full size before she actually landed. At the same time the seals regrew to normal size with her, making Danzou covered in them.

The elder ninja immediately felt the strange seals on his body and could tell they were bad. 'I must get them off NOW!'

"Get him now!" Fuu shouted as the powder cloud dispersed and dissipated over the floor, allowing everyone to see again. As soon as their eyes could focus that is.

Danzou heard the shout and could tell her she was. Reacting quickly, he took his broken sword and thrust it towards the green-haired girl, the broken but still sharp end cutting into her from behind.

* * *

The Suna army had taken a good number of hits, as had the Oto army. The element of surprise was gone for both invaders and now the Konoha forces were using their homefield advantage to the fullest they could. Not to mention Konoha had a larger population than both Suna and Oto put together so they were starting to use the number advantage too.

On the outskirts of Konoha the wounded were taken to give them a chance to recover at the hands of Oto's top-notch medic forces trained by Tsunade herself. The dead were also taken there too so Konoha couldn't learn from their bodies, and were to be properly identified and burned.

Kin, Dosu, and Zaku were in such a place, with Zaku being treated by a medic nin. Zaku was at least no longer screaming from the injury Tsume gave him. Now he was simply knocked out.

"He'll be fine, but his role here is over." The medic told his teammates.

"Thank you." Dosu said.

"We should probably go find Kabuto-sensei and help him out." Kin told the mummy-wannabe.

The two went out, but as soon as they did they saw a couple of Konoha nin killing a few Oto nin that were caught offguard. Kin groaned and fired off a few senbon, her deadly accuracy hitting them all in the back of their knees, causing their legs to buckle and lose the ability to support their body weight for a moment.

Dosu ran in front of them all. "Melody Gauntlet Internal Concussion." He said before activating his weapon at point blank range, generating sound waves that hit the inner ear so fiercely it felt like the brain itself was rattling inside the ninja's skulls. Whatever balance those Konoha nin had left evaporated and was replaced by a migraine at full force.

Kin was going to come up and finish them off, but a giant shuriken came too close to cleaving her for her liking. Turning around she saw reinforcements from Konoha, most of them Anbu but two of them were the guards Izumo and Kotetsu. And right now Konoha's troops looked like they forgot the definition of mercy.

"Let's get out of here!" Kin told Dosu, starting to panic. Dosu nodded and ran with her back to the medic tent. A few Oto and Suna nin tried to fight back but were being slaughtered.

"Retreat!" A Suna Anbu shouted before his head was cut off.

"Konoha's found us! Take the injured and run!" Kin told anyone who could hear her.

Right away the medics grabbed their supplies and patients and ran off, knowing their job was to heal not fight. Dosu grabbed Zaku and placed him on his back. Not having the upper body strength to do the same, Kin resorted to being part of the guard of the group so that they had some protection from Konoha.

Kin immediately resorted to one of her best defenses. Hitting a button on her belt, a hidden device emitted a high pitch sound that briefly disorientated the enemy, but it's real purpose was to cast a genjutsu on them when she added her chakra to it, which she did. As a result, like her hypnotic bells she made the enemy see multiple copies of the Oto-Suna group and thanks to the earlier disorientation they couldn't immediately tell which group was the real one.

By the time the Konoha nin recovered, the fleeing medics had already gotten away.

* * *

Gaara and Shukaku were still crushing the Konoha ninja in their area, the bijuu enjoying the thrill of the kill and Gaara getting a small amount of satisfaction too. With the original Ino-Shika-Chou force pulled back there was nothing to stop the bijuu from getting to Konoha itself.

The border patrol was trying its damnedest to keep the giant tanuki away, but they weren't anywhere fit to subdue a bijuu. Not even Minato's old body guards Genma Shiranui, Raido Namiashi, and their teammate, could handle this the same way Minato could have.

"We may be screwed." Genma commented.

"Try to be positive. This thing was defeated before, it can be defeated again." Raido told him.

"But how?"

Shukaku inhaled a great amount of air, making its stomach swell. "Drilling Air Bullet!" He then hit his stomach sending the air missile out, forcing the border patrol to dodge. The wall and everything behind it weren't as lucky and the attack caused a straight line of wreckage that practically cut Konoha itself in half.

The Kazekage arrived on top Shukaku's head beside Gaara. "Nice job Son."

"Thanks Otou-sama. Did you get revenge for us?"

He nodded. "Yep, now all's that left to do is finish this invasion."

* * *

Underground in Danzou's lair, the tremor from Shukaku's attack could be felt. The vibrations shook the walls, cracked some of Haku's ice walls, and made everyone lose their balance and fall down. In the process Danzou's broken cane sword came out of Fuu's back and Shichibi immediately started to work on healing it's container.

Fuu glared at Danzou with unconcealed rage, his attack on her bringing back painful memories. Her time in Taki had been unpleasant, but mostly because she was as socially welcome as an insect, and pretty much given the same kind of attention. Ignored virtually all the time and only acknowledged when one decided to eliminate you, like a pesky bug.

So while most of the time the residents of Taki tried to pretend she didn't exist even to her face, there had been more than a few times when someone tried to kill her. Danzou's attack on her just sparked an old memory.

-Flashback-

It was Fuu's seventh birthday and the young girl was running away from a lone Taki nin about at night. This nin was a genin who had been sent home from the recent chuunin exams for failing and was in a bad mood. And once he saw Taki's jinchuuriki, he felt he finally had something to vent at.

"Stand still and let me kill you you freak!" He yelled as he charged at her with a sai in each hand. The few witnesses paid it no mind, figuring as long as they played ignorant nothing would happen to them.

Fuu was running as best she could, and after doing it ever since she could run she was damn good at it by this point. The problem was her first choice of hiding place, Shibuki's house, wasn't an option as he was out and left it locked, and she had no time to unlock it and sneak in. Her only choice was to run until this guy lost her then hide in her usual sleeping place, the upper branches of Taki's central tree.

Unfortunately, she took a wrong turn and found herself in a dead-end alley between two stores, the exit blocked by a brick wall. Unable to walk up walls with chakra, Fuu could do little except press herself against the bricks as her assailant now calmly walked up to her, taking his time as he now felt confident in his victory.

"Looks like you're out of luck vermin. Any last words?" He asked, twirling his sais around as an intimidation ploy.

At this age Fuu wasn't much for talk, but there was one thing that could make her talk. "Ninja Art Hidden in Scale Powder Jutsu!" She exhaled a small cloud of reflective powder and caught the moonlight and the glare immediately blinded her would-be murderer.

In his blindness, Fuu tried to run past him, but he must have heard her for he thrust out one of his sais. By luck or maybe skill, he managed to stab her right in the back and into her left kidney.

Fuu screamed in pain and fell on her face, reaching back to pull the weapon out. Before she could, she blacked out.

It was in that blackout that Fuu would meet the Shichibi for the first time, and in their meeting the bloodline deal was made. Since it was moments before midnight they only had enough time to create the Body Contraction kekkei genkai. When she awoke, she met Jiraiya and Tsunade, who had rescued and healed her, and gave her the offer to go to Oto for a time.

She was more than eager to leave.

-End Flashback-

Fuu had not received such an injury until now, and when she saw Danzou she remembered that horrible Taki nin who wanted to kill her simply to vent off a bad mood. She also remembered the horrible feeling she had back then as a kid, the feeling of being unwanted, unloved, and helpless to do anything about it.

Now she was angry, and getting angrier. She wanted to hurt Danzou the same way she wanted to hurt that man, the way she wanted to hurt many in Taki. At least here she had the opportunity, and she was going to take it.

'Chomei, it's time.' She said to her inner demon.

"You certain?" The Shichibi asked, knowing it's container would not use it's name except in one situation.

'Yes, do it.'

"Alright then. Time for me to spread my wings." The Shichibi said happily.

Fuu was then covered in red chakra, which slowly began to take on the form of a beetle. Her eyes turned black and compound like a bug, and six wings popped out of her lower back.

Danzou looked on in horror. 'A jinchuuriki? I must subdue her and quick.' He rushed to rip off the seals on his sharingans, but countless senbon struck each one dead center, impaling the pupils and making him scream in agony. Even his normal eye was pierced, and a few pressure points were hit to maximize pain and hinder movement.

Haku smirked at her work. "Good thing he never noticed we were here."

Sasame nodded as she used the headhunter jutsu to make him be trapped up to his neck in the stone floor. "Should we calm Fuu-chan down now?"

Haku turned to see Fuu now was covered completely in blood red chakra with a horn on her head, six wings, and a ribbon tail, and she was getting bigger and more like the real shichibi (AN: Before anyone says anything, I just want to say I prefer shichibi over nanabi). She also saw Subsonic and her helpers back on their feet and fighting off some ROOT nin that had managed to get in the room. "Let's kill the guy first. Then handle her."

Sasame nodded, and used an earth jutsu to make the ground encasing him compress his body and make it impossible for Danzou to breathe in. He groaned, ruing the fact that he couldn't escape or substitute with something. Haku had made sure to screw up his nervous system too much, and with it uncooperative, he couldn't control his chakra anymore than he could his muscles.

With that secure, Sasame pulled out a ninjato she had at her hip and cut Danzou's throat with it. At the same time Fuu's transformation into the shichibi was complete and the room wasn't big enough to hold the giant insect, so she ripped the ceiling apart until the sky was exposed. Some of the ROOT nin attacked her but her beating wings swept them away with a strong gust of wind.

The transformed jinchuuriki emerged from the ground and hovered over Konoha, who were mortified to see two bijuu attacking Konoha now. The shichibi looked over at the ichibi and both grinned, already tasting victory.

* * *

Naruto from a distance smiled. "Looks like Fuu-chan is ready to end this. Should I do my part?"

Orochimaru smiled. "Yes, and we will do ours."

Naruto smiled. 'Showtime Kurama.' Like Fuu, he knew only to refer to his bijuu by name when it was time for their special strategy.

Naruto became covered in red chakra and his eyes turned red with black slits. The chakra got darker and more tails formed before a skeleton then muscles and finally skin and fur did as he grew larger. Now the nine-tails, seven-tails, and one-tail were emerged and visible to all of Konoha.

Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade moved to different points around Konoha and summoned the bosses, Gamabunta, Katsuyu, and Manda, who with Shukaku and Kurama formed a pentagon around Konoha and Chomei flying over the center of the village. Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya stood atop their summons, who all were already told of the invasion and saw no reason to not allow it. Heck Gamabunta was even in favor of it after Konoha mistreated Minato's son.

Kakashi and Gai, like many others, had mixed feeling once they saw the arrangement of giant animals. "Kakashi, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Gai asked.

"All three sannin summons, but they're not attacking our enemies. They're staring us down, as if waiting for us to strike back." Kakashi thought out loud. "This... this doesn't make sense. Have _all_ the sannin turned against Konoha?"

"It's not impossible." Gai said.

"How can you say that?" Kakashi asked, shocked.

"If one sannin turned against Konoha, who's to say the others couldn't? It's an unpleasant truth, but loyalty isn't set in stone and fighters can switch sides. And from the looks of it, I'd say they have."

Kakashi didn't like the sound of that, but he couldn't deny what he saw. 'Sensei, if only you were here, you'd put an end to all this.'

Once Konoha saw that the sannin boss summons were backing up the bijuu and invading army rather than opposing them, all of Konoha's battle spirit had evaporated. After a minute, white smoke bellowed out of the hokage tower smokepipe.

Konoha had surrendered. The invasion was over.


	70. Aftermath

Chapter 70 Aftermath

The invasion over, all of Konoha's forces had no choice but to drop all their weapons and hold their hands over their heads to avoid further violence. Some wouldn't, and would go down dead if not winners and thus tried continuing the battle, but Konoha as a majority had stopped fighting.

'At least the civilians are safe in hiding. With luck these guys will ignore them.' was a common thought amongst the Konoha nin.

Unfortunately for them, Oto and Suna were starting to round up every inhabitant of Konoha, shinobi or civilian. Subsonic had already informed Oto of how to get into the civilian hideouts, but only after Orochimaru promised they weren't simply going to slaughter everyone.

'I'm not going to slaughter Konoha's citizens. No, I've got something even better planned for them all.' The snake sannin told his best spy, and repeated it to himself now as he saw the captives being lead to the most open part of the village. The three bijuu and boss summons made sure no one got away, no one.

Atop the hokage tower were the three sannin, arms crossed and staring down at the village they had been born and raised in. It was true that each of them couldn't avoid feeling a pang of unhappiness for things having turned out this way, but they refused to let themselves feel guilty about this. Konoha had gone downhill with no signs of improvement coming from within. Konoha's population had gotten lax and assumed their hokage and councils would always know what was best for them all so they never once questioned if that really was the case. The only solution was change from an outside force, and better them than someone else with a more selfish agenda guiding them.

Shichibi had to perch on a building so the sound of their wings wouldn't drown out what was to come next, and the Oto and Suna nin formed a perimeter around the gathered citizens of the Leaf.

Subsonic approached the sannin. "Otokage-sama, by all accounts, every shinobi and civilian still alive is accounted for and right here before you, ready to hear what you are about to tell them."

"Excellent. And what of our own?" Orochimaru asked.

"Some are being treated and regrouping after retreating, but overall close enough to act on your orders."

"Perfect. Now, send word to Oto. Tell them of our victory and soon return."

Subsonic nodded. "Yes Otokage-sama." She then shunshined away, ready to use her kawarimi trick to get to Oto in a fraction of the time. Her subordinates would stay behind in case they were still needed. Speaking of which, her aides were holding the two elders Homura and Koharu in chains under the sannin from the side of the building, ensuring they couldn't do anything about this. The two elders were gagged to ensure they couldn't say anything either, and Kogyoku and Sango were wrapped around them, big as pythons as an added security measure.

Orochimaru looked over the amassed crowd, grinning proudly. 'Oh how I've waited for this, the time to finally take Konoha off it's high horse. I know full well that part of it is because of the leaders letting their egos get big, but this never would have happened if the populous hadn't been so willing to blindly follow them like drones. After all, even if they were under a genjutsu that made it impossible for them to see Naruto as Minato's son, they _did_ see a child and still victimized him with no regards or regrets, and would have shamelessly continued to do so had I not taken him out of Konoha ten years ago. That is unforgivable.'

"Hello people of Konoha. For those of you that don't know me, I am Orochimaru of the Legendary Sannin. With me are my teammates, Tsunade and Jiraiya. As you can tell, we did not come here to save you from this attack. No, rather, we were the brains behind it." He paused for a second to let that sink in. "Yes, this invasion was OUR idea. Konoha's own Legendary Sannin have turned against Konoha, but before any of you ask why we would do such a thing, ask yourself this first: What would motivate all three of us to hate Konoha to this degree?"

Ultimately, that wasn't really a different question, but the phrasing of it did have the intended result. Most of the smarter, more perceptive ninja and civilians knew this meant that the sannin weren't doing this just for the heck of it, nor were they likely doing it under orders for someone else and being the front for it. After all, sannin services weren't cheap and they specifically said 'hate Konoha' not 'attack Konoha'. That indicated this was personal in some way, meaning someone in Konoha had done something to piss all three of them off enough to get two village's worth of ninja to attack. And that implied more which in turn implied more questions, and overall no one, not even their smartest Nara, could figure out just what Orochimaru was getting at.

The civilians were too frightened and confused to even shout out an arrogant reply here, lest they die that much sooner.

Jiraiya spoke next. "I can see that none of you have any idea, but some of you are starting to realize that we're not doing this because we were bored or anything like that. The truth is we were very strongly motivated to do this, and now, you're all about to find out what exactly that motivation is."

"But we doubt you'll truly listen to what we say. That's why we brought along a special guest, one we know you'll listen to." Tsunade added.

The three sannin stepped aside, and in there place walked up Minato Namikaze. Every single citizen of Konoha gasped at seeing their fallen leader back to life.

'Sensei...? You're alive? How? And... why aren't you fighting them? Are you on their side?' Kakashi thought, his legs suddenly weak and barely able to support his weight. 'An impostor, that's what he is, an impostor. There's no way my sensei would turn against Konoha even if he was brought back to life by someone.'

"Hello Konoha. Yes, I am Minato Namikaze, your Yondaime. And to prove I'm no impersonator..." He pulled out a tri-kunai clear for all to see and threw it down, where it landed right by Kakashi. A bright flash of yellow light later and the Yondaime was right in front of his former student. "Hello Kakashi."

"S-s-s-sensei? It's... it's really you?" The grey-haired jounin stammered out, now no longer convinced this guy was a pretender. Anyone else wondering that was now starting to seriously believe this guy was who he claimed to be.

Minato picked up his weapon and held it like he was tempted to cut someone with it. "I heard from my wife what you've said and done to my son. You sicken me Kakashi. You deserved to lose Obito's sharingan." He then threw his tri-kunai back up where he had been and hiraishin'ed away.

Now Kakashi collapsed. 'Sensei is disappointed in me? Why? Everything I've ever done was in memory of him. In honor to him. Wait, did he say MY son? What did I do to his son? His son died thirteen years ago, everyone who knew about him knows that.'

Back where he originally was, but now with Kushina beside him, Minato addressed the crowd again. "Are you convinced I am who I say I am? I sure hope so, because I'd hate to have to kill all of you. And while some here in Konoha do deserve to die, the rest of you are mere victims of circumstance and deserve nothing worse than to be deeply shamed for your blind action and inaction."

Again, no one was brave or foolish enough to call him out on this, but the collective concession was 'What the hell did we do?'

"Allow me to elaborate what exactly Konoha did that brought this day about." Minato told everyone. "Thirteen years ago, Kyuubi attacked and my wife and I fought along Konoha's ninja to get rid of it. We succeeded, but I died and my wife ended up in a coma, with no one able to look after our poor infant son. A son born on October 10th thirteen years ago, with blonde hair and blue eyes. All we asked was he was taken care of and seen as a hero."

While the majority of the population was clueless as they hadn't thought of Naruto in ten years, some of the ninja were started to realize what their resurrected leader was getting at.

"Apparently some powerful people chose to conspire against us at the time and ensure our wishes were anything but followed. My wife's comatose body was moved to another country to keep her away from everyone until she could be made useful by someone, and my son was set up to be made into a pawn by the Sandaime you all have been following. That's right, the Sandaime tried to ruin my son's life, and you all helped him do it."

There was a collective gasp as people comprehended this. "How?" One civilian asked, wanting to hear the story.

"I'm glad you asked. But before I answer, I have a question for you all. Why on Earth did none of you trust me to protect you?" He paused to let that sink in and cause confusion, but spoke up before anyone could request confirmation. "For those of you that either don't know the story or haven't thought about it in years, allow me to tell you where Konoha went wrong. I may be strong, but even I can't make something like the Kyuubi disappear into thin air. It had to go somewhere when it was defeated, and I took care of that by sealing it away. But the only place I could seal it away was in a seal placed on my day-old son. Yes, on. My. Son!"

There were a few more gasps as the people who could remember Naruto back before he was three now realized the young boy had apparently not been a random insignificant orphan or someone their hokage had no concern regarding the life of. The kids close to Naruto's age or younger were surprised that they had never heard this part of the story before and wondered why no one ever told them the Yondaime had a son.

"My son held up and reinforced the seal I designed, ensuring you are were safe from the Kyuubi, and all I asked was that you see him as a hero for keeping you safe every day. Apparently the Sandaime had other ideas and with help from several others set up to ensure that none of you would do anything I requested. He did this by making you all afraid of my son. His advisers, who are right here underneath us, spread propaganda against my son within hours of my death and the late head of the Uchiha clan Fugaku Uchiha used his sharingan to cast a genjutsu on you all to ensure that none of you saw any resemblance between my son and myself. Even though you saw the same blonde hair and blue eyes I have on him, the idea he could be my son was ludicrous to all of you."

Kakashi's eyes widened when he recalled the boy Kushina referred to as her son back in Wave. 'Wait, is it somehow possible that child she had with her was Sensei's? It couldn't be, and yet, if what he says is true... no, it can't be true. It just can't.' He then realized something. 'Wait, that denial actually gives his claim even more credibility.'

Sasuke, in the crowd along with his teammates, was also surprised to hear that his father did such a thing. Part of him was proud his father was capable of manipulating people on such a scale, but at the same time he suspected this would not work out well for him.

"You all were under a genjutsu and couldn't see my son as mine, THAT I can overlook." Minato continued. "But even if the boy _wasn't_ mine, why did you all turn against him so easily and hatefully? Why did you treat him like he was the Kyuubi itself? THAT I can't overlook. Why do you praise my skills as near godlike if none of you have any faith in what I did at my last stand? Why do you believe I was strong enough to turn the fox into a helpless child but not strong enough to kill it? And why would any of you believe I would actually _want_ a child to die? None of that was a genjutsu's fault, that was all you. And I demand an explanation for your myopic hatred!"

'It's a good thing we told him everything, and now we're all about to find out what Sensei's files didn't answer.' Orochimaru thought.

"There must be a mistake. My father would never do such a thing." Asuma shouted out.

Tsunade held up a button. "We thought someone might say something like that. So that's why we made sure to have recording devices while we faced him. Here, listen to this." She then pressed a button, and megaphones put in place by Oto nin started to play the part she left the tape at.

_Tsunade's voice, calm: "Face it Sensei, you lost in your little scheme."_

_Minato's voice, pressing: "And you still haven't answered my question. Why did you set out to turn Konoha against my son?"_

_Sarutobi's voice, angered: "It was because I finally had a chance to accomplish my dream of having a personal jinchuuriki subordinate. I tried my hardest to get Kushina under my control during my reign but her damn clan kept interfering. I thought assigning Tsunade to be her sensei would give me a good opportunity, but Tsunade foolishly only made it even harder. It was only after I arranged for her boy-toy to be killed that she finally left Kushina alone, but noooo, you had to be romantically involved with my weapon. __After that I called it quits for my goal and gave you my mantle in hopes you would use her the way I intended to. But you didn't, and I always thought you were an idiot for that. So when I regained the hokage role and found out Kyuubi had been placed in a new vessel with no one around to claim jurisdiction over it, I knew my chance had finally come. I just needed to keep Tsunade and Jiraiya away from him and keep Konoha from knowing you sired him. So I lied to them both, had Orochimaru do the actual work of keeping Naruto alive, and made sure no one in Konoha would reveal anything about him by making sure they were too scared to try. It was surprisingly easy, though I had Fugaku Uchiha cast a genjutsu over all of Konoha to ensure not one person who didn't already know who he was would see a resemblance to you in your own son and think he was related to you."_

_Jiraiya's voice, curious: "So why lie about Iwa? Or let people know about Naruto as a jinchuuriki? If you really wanted him to be a puppet ninja for you, wouldn't it have been easier to just hide him from everyone yourself and fill his head with whatever you wanted?"_

_Sarutobi's voice, certain: "I already raised and trained two kids while being hokage at the same time, I really wasn't in the mood to do it again. Something had to give, and if I gave up the hokage role I would lose my chance at molding Minato's son into my image. But if he was accepted and loved by the village, he would get too powerful to be controlled by one person."_

_Minato's voice, offended: "That one person being you?" _

_Sarutobi's voice, unrepentant: "Yes, my plan required me to be the highest authority figure in his life, but if he was liked then all clan heads and many civilians would have influence over him and his loyalty would be compromiseable. The solution therefore was to ensure they had no interest in him, and telling everyone he was a jinchuuriki and had no important parents did just that. The Iwa thing was just to silence those that wanted to say otherwise on keeping Naruto's heritage hidden."_

At hearing this confession, many people started to realize small yet revealing things that they never stopped to think about before. There _had_ been a pregnant woman named Uzumaki who disappeared before the Kyuubi attacked, and she was close to the Yondaime. The boy they took their grief out on _did_ have blonde hair and blue eyes like the Yondaime. It _did_ seem awfully convenient that Iwa, their supposed eternal haters, never thought to attack Konoha right after the Kyuubi attack when they were at their weakest.

But it didn't make complete sense, mostly because they weren't yet ready to consider the likelihood of their trusted hokage having a personal agenda. Ideally hokages were not supposed to be greedy or selfish with their power. They were supposed to be selfless and sacrificing, putting the village above all needs including their own.

The problem with that is it's only an _ideal_ portrayal of a leader. It is anything but a reality.

"Now are you all so certain your Sandaime was a man worth avenging or dying for?" Orochimaru told the crowd. "He caused this whole mess, with the support of his three advisers, by turning the shinobi and civilians against the Yondaime's son by convincing you all he was unimportant and something to be afraid of. One of his advisers responsible for this set-up is already dead, and these two here are going to follow him now." Suddenly Kogyoku and Sango bit both Homura and Koharu on their necks, poisoning them both. Their deaths would be agonizing, but quick, as they struggled in fear to get free.

Ignoring this, the snake sannin said more. "I offer you this one time offer Konoha, do not oppose us, and we will let Konoha have the chance to redeem itself. If you oppose us, the invasion will not end here. Not until Konoha no longer qualifies as anything except a ghost town. Choose now. All you have to do is either kneel, or take up arms again within the next sixty seconds."

What came next was the longest sixty seconds Konoha ever knew. Konoha did not want to fight anymore, especially since their strongest assets were now on the opposing side. And with three bijuu and three boss summons giving support to the enemy armies, surrender felt like the only reasonable option.

The problem was Konoha was a proud village. They were the oldest hidden village. They had been on the winning side of each shinobi war. They had bloodlines and clans that were the envy of the world. They were _not_ the type of people who just surrendered like this.

But fortunately the message was clearer than crystal: Surrender or slaughter, and Oto and Suna had the strength to back up the slaughter part. In a way, this was more of a test of character than a test of resolve and that's what Oto and Suna really wanted to see here.

'How could this be? How could Sensei's son still be alive without me knowing it? I'm his last student and one of our best ninja, I'm automatically supposed to know these sort of things.' Kakakshi told himself, currently unable to cope with the fact that he had been left out of the loop. 'Dear Kami, I called Sensei's son a bastard child with no significance back in Wave. No wonder he hates me.'

Sasuke frowned, but for once at himself. 'Father helped turn this entire village against a hokage's son. Why? I mean, yes the fact that he's not an Uchiha was bound to be part of it, but I doubt he did it just because of that. Otherwise he'd turn the entire village against every non-Uchiha and make people give himself the hokage role. Were there limits on how much influence he could cause? Now that people have heard this, I wonder how they'll regard the Uchiha from now on.'

Sakura looked around the crowd noticing the various expressions. 'So many people look unhappy here. I don't blame them, since these awful people are trying to tell us we've been acting wrong for years. Who are they to tell us what's right and wrong? Besides, we're not wrong. We're winners and winners are never wrong. Obasan says so.'

Kiba kept looking over the crowd for his missing mother and sister, though his father was right beside him. 'Where are they? I hope they weren't captured or killed by these guys. Okaa-san and Nee-san deserve better than to become prisoners of war.'

Genma looked up at Minato in disbelief. 'Yondaime-sama is turning against us? Surely he wouldn't do this unless he was completely certain what motivated this reaction was real. This must mean that we all mistreated his son without even realizing it.'

Shino was quiet, but mentally he hadn't a clue what position to take here. 'It would appear the leadership of Konoha was self-serving and manipulative, but this could all be a ruse to lower our guards. But to what purpose? They already have us outmatched. Why demoralize us further? There must be a hidden objective here I can't surmise with my current amount of information.'

Yakumo was a bit ambivalent. 'I know these guys did a lot of damage here, but still... it's only because of them that I managed to heal my mind. And so far it doesn't look like any of them really mean to eliminate us. I'll reserve judgment for now but remain cautious.'

'Danzo-sama's will must be enforced. One way or another.' Sai told himself, his expression blank throughout all this.

Asuma was angry, resentful at this slander. 'My father was a great man. Everything he did was for the good of the village. If he did sabotage one child's future, it was for the greater good. These guys are just making it personal and taking it out on us. This cannot go unpunished.'

'What's going on here?' Ino questioned. 'Hokage-sama betrayed the Yondaime and he's back for revenge from beyond the grave? How is this possible? Why are we being involved in this? _We_ didn't do anything... did we?'

'How troublesome.' Shikamaru thought. 'It appears Konoha's governing body has been doing some shady dealing without full realization of the consequences and we all have to be part of the fallout too.'

Chouji had lost his appetite, but now his mental clarity. 'If I understand all this correctly, then Sandaime-sama set out to control Yondaime-sama's son because he had some connection to the Kyuubi. And the Sannin didn't like that and took him away to keep him safe and have now come back to eliminate the threat. Now they're trying to gauge our reaction to see if we support or abhor the Sandaime's actions.'

For once, Gai was at a loss for words or energy. 'I don't understand this, but if the recording is genuine and so is Yondaime-sama, then maybe Konoha really has been heading in the wrong direction and needed this to steer us straight. At least it doesn't look like they plan to wipe us off the face of the earth.'

As always, Lee was acting almost exactly like his sensei, even in somber moods. 'What that recording for real? Is that the actual Yondaime-sama in the flesh? Did Konoha's leadership really attempt to circumvent his son's life just to take advantage of it? If so, then who's to say they didn't do more to others? Maybe Konoha needed it's leaders taken out of power.'

Neji ignored all this, still focused more on his father's death than any trouble his village might be in. 'These bastards come here, attack my village, kill my clansmen, and try to make it sound like it's our own fault? I swear on Otou-san's grave I will not rest until these asses are completely destroyed. I will ensure this sound village will be fated to become completely annihilated.'

Tenten was quite conflicted, but kept her hands near her weapons just in case. 'Is this for real? Did Konoha's leaders become corrupt and manipulative? It's too crazy to think about, but not impossible. Power can corrupt anyone after all. Even so, what is the enemy's plan for us? It can't just be a lecture and choice.'

"If you need extra incentive, maybe this will help the older generation make up their minds." Jiraiya added, then stepped aside to reveal one of Naruto's clones who stood right beside Minato. As far as Konoha was concerned, this clone was the original, and with Naruto right next to his father, undisguised with his blonde hair and whiskers prominent, the similarities were staggering. "Allow me to introduce Minato's son, the one you all mistreated ten years ago like he was anything but human."

Fugaku's old genjutsu finally broke, and everyone who up until then could never believe Naruto was in anyway related to the Yondaime now could see the glaringly obvious connection. And with that, several facts started to make themselves apparent bit by bit to the more perceptive citizens of Konoha, ninja and civilian alike.

Minato's son had survived the Kyuubi attack.

Sarutobi had know that and lied to them about that fact.

The young boy that Orochimaru had been watching over over ten years, the one they either ignored or attacked, had been Minato's son all this time.

The young boy did not die in a fire the day Orochimaru left Konoha. He was still alive and standing right in front of them.

The fact that the Kyuubi jinchuuriki (as far as they knew) was right there while Kyuubi was on the edge of the village meant the boy really wasn't Kyuubi in human form after all.

The sannin knew all this but also knew that Konoha would never ever believe them over their leaders, unless they did something to get the leaders out of power.

Ultimately, this invasion was in actuality a wake-up call for Konoha.

"Time's up Konoha. What's your decision? Surrender, or more fighting?" Tsunade told everyone when sixty seconds had passed.

Some immediately decided to kneel and look at the ground, knowing they couldn't continue the fight. Most were hesitant, but one by one more started too, preferring to live today so they could fight tomorrow. Some were more stubborn, but as their numbers decreased even their resolve decreased. And by the time it was down to just the most adamant, no less than 95% percent of Konoha were in a position of surrender.

Konoha would no longer fight as a whole against Oto and Suna on this. Their only consultation? It didn't look like Oto and Suna were intending to wipe them out or enslave them, just shame them.

Orochimaru smiled, taking the surrender as a whole for the village. "Good. I'm glad to see Konoha hasn't become completely brain-dead in the past thirteen years. But of course, we're not going to just take your word for it either. Konoha will now be under probation, under the eyes of Oto and Suna, and we'll be watching for any signs we don't like." He decided to leave out the fact that Iwa was part of their alliance, mostly to allow their side to keep some secrets.

"And what gives you the right to have jurisdiction over us?" One of the civilian council members shouted out.

"Might makes right, doesn't it? Isn't that the way you've been acting for the better part of the past two decades? Well now someone else is going to be enforcing their own strength for once." Tsunade answered. "Doesn't feel nice to be on the receiving end of such callousness for once does it?

"What do you have to be afraid of?" Jiraiya asked. "As long as you don't try anything to piss us off, you'll be perfectly fine. Only those of you that think you can pretend none of this ever happened should be afraid."

"You just killed our hokage and several of our elders, you turned traitor to your own village, and now you've stolen our Yondaime from us! I'd say you've given us plenty of reason to be pissed off!" Natsumi Haruno shouted out, hoping they wouldn't bother wasting their energy on killing her.

"And Konoha has given us every reason to be pissed off at you." Orochimaru retaliated. "We have given you a warning: Do not anger us any further, or we will deliver retribution. You have seen our might and the ones who direct it, the question is will you heed our warning or will you ignore it?"

'Wait, is that what this entire invasion was really about? A warning?' Shikaku asked himself.

"It's your move now Konoha. I suggest you choose wisely." Tsunade told them all.

Before anything more could be said, the sannin and those accompanying them on the rooftop vanished without a trace. Soon the rest of the Oto and Suna forces disappeared too. Then the boss summons and bijuu were gone.

The invasion was over and the invaders were apparently gone. Konoha's citizens were now standing around confused and asking themselves one question.

What to do now?


	71. Homecoming

_To everyone who is wondering, no the story isn't over yet. There's still the Akatsuki, fallout of the invasion, actual creation of Naruto's harem, and Konoha's eventual reaction to cover. In all likelihood this story is far from over, regardless if I split it into two parts to cover the shippuden part too._

Chapter 71 Homecoming

"Here we are Minato, Otogakure. Our new home." Kushina told her revived husband as the walls of the youngest shinobi village came into view.

"Heh, not too long ago we were saying that to you Okaa-san." Naruto told her.

As the group got closer, they were greeted by a trio of masked ninja. Minato got cautious, but Kushina patted his shoulder. "Relax, they're the Anbu of the village, but here they're called Altos instead."

"Otokage-sama, you've returned. Subsonic was here yesterday and informed us of your victory over Konoha." The center Alto stated.

"Yes. How have things been in Oto in our absence?" Orochimaru inquired.

"Overall things have been peaceful. Should we go relieve your stand-in of her duty?"

Orochimaru shook his head. "No, I'll do that myself. Return to your duties."

"Yes sir." The three Altos then vanished.

Orochimaru turned to his group. "All of you can take the remainder of the day off to relax and enjoy being home. Just be ready to return to active duty tomorrow except for those still in need of treatment."

There were many sighs of relief from the Oto nin. And from one Suna kunoichi who was next to Naruto. "Good. I get a day of fun with Ruto-kun. Haven't had that in a while."

Naruto smiled. "Just remember Mari-chan we've got plenty of time to do all you want."

-Flashback-

The trip back from Konoha did not take long for the Oto and Suna armies, though the trip was shorter for Oto. Since the two armies had to go in different directions, they could not travel together for long, but Kazekage and Orochimaru made sure to keep the two together for a short time to defer any possible immediate retaliation from Konoha.

When they finally reached the point where the two had no choice but to fork, Kazekage and his children got together with the sannin and Naruto. Minato was busy getting reacquainted with Kushina for the moment in a nonsexual way. "Yes Kazekage-sama?" Orochimaru asked.

"Otokage-sama, I wish to thank you for giving me this chance to attack the man who conspired against my family and village, and I hate to do this, but I have two requests to make."

Orochimaru tilted his head slightly. "I'm listening."

"My first request is as kazekage. Since the Wind Daimyo conspired with Sarutobi against me, I won't feel justice is completely served until I do something to him as well. When I face him, I'd like support from your village if possible. If for nothing else then to surprise him and provide my shinobi aide if he turns on us."

The sannin looked at each other. "I understand your concern Kazekage-sama, but personally I think this is more about your village than ours and not something we should make our business." Tsunade told the gold dust user.

"But on the other hand, we can't just ignore a request from our ally, especially right after they just helped us out in something that was more personal for us than for them." Jiraiya added.

Tsunade didn't look convinced. "I agree on that, but personally what exactly do you plan to do Kazekage-sama? Kill the daimyo and hope his replacement knows better? How far have you thought ahead?"

"I'm still in the developing stages of the plan. Rest assured I won't act until I've thought of everything. I just wanted to know that if I need it I could rely on your help in this in the future." Kazekage told them.

Orochimaru cleared his throat. "In that case the wisest thing for us to do is not promise anything until we hear an actual plan. But rest assured Kazekage-sama, we will at least hear your future plan out before deciding when the time comes."

"That will suffice." Suna's fourth leader told the sannin. "My second request is as a father. I feel that Temari might benefit from spending some actual time with Naruto for a bit."

Naruto blushed lightly as did Temari, but neither looked opposed to this.

"How long?" Jiraiya asked.

"I think a year is not a bad estimate, maybe longer if something were to come up." Kazekage replied.

Temari turned to her father "Otou-sama! I'm not planning on getting pregnant that soon!"

"Who said anything about you getting pregnant?" Kazekage asked her, suddenly embarrassing Temari. He then returned his attention to the sannin. "All I ask is that you don't forbid her from returning to Suna from time to time and recognize her as a chuunin."

Now Temari no longer looked embarrassed. "R-really Otou-sama?"

He nodded. "I felt you earned it, though personally I wish you had kept your clothes on during your match. What in Kami-sama's name were you thinking?"

Temari shrugged. "I deceived enemies ahead of time into thinking I was an easy target so during the invasion I could kick their asses easier. It's hard to take someone seriously as a fighter if you can't stop undressing them with your eyes; I just sort of forced that onto them."

Tsunade folded her arms. "And here I thought you just didn't want to lose a contest of sex appeal with your opponent."

Temari looked away. "That _might_ have been part of it, but that wasn't the main reason." 'Yeah right.'

Kazekage looked at his only daughter analytically. "Hmm... maybe I was wrong about you becoming chuunin just yet. Or getting to be with a boy for so long either."

Temari looked rather bothered. "Otou-sama, I can handle staying genin, but you promised me I could spend some time with Ruto-kun after our business in Konoha was done."

"If it makes you feel better I can ensure she is on birth control the entire time." Tsunade offered.

"I'd feel even better if she remained a virgin until marriage." Kazekage stated.

"Hold on, why are you talking like I'm going to jump her first chance I'll get?" Naruto asked.

"You'll understand when you have a daughter." Kazekage answered simply.

Temari crossed her arms firmly. "Otou-sama, all you can get is our word that we'll do nothing until our wedding night. If that's not good enough for you, what is? A vow signed in blood?"

"Not a bad idea."

"Fine, then write it up so I can sign it." Temari told her father, surprising him since he half-expected her to resist such a requirement.

Kazekage grinned and pulled out a rolled up piece of paper from inside his robes. "Already did. Just sign in blood both of you and the deal's done."

Temari was more than ready, but before she could grab the contract, Naruto interjected. "Hold on, I was under the impression that I could only officially marry one girl and the others would be included in my clan but not as legally registered wives. Am I wrong? Because if I'm not, then fulfilling this oath basically dooms Temari-chan to a life of virginity."

Temari's eyes widened and she looked at her father, hoping he wasn't trying to trap her into something. To her relief, Kazekage looked unaware too. "Wait, is this true? I was under the impression that any bonds would be legalized."

Tsunade turned to Naruto. "Naruto, where did you heard that?"

"That's the way all the girls have been discussing it when we're together. How Hina-chan would be the one true wife and the other eight would be like semi-wives or something like that." He answered.

"Someone must have misheard something or not bothered to get the facts straight." Jiraiya replied. "Boy, in cases like Temari and Fuu, the marriage would have to be legalized to settle any inter-village strife. In that case, why wouldn't the others be allowed to become legal wives too?"

Naruto was stunned. "I... I didn't think of that."

Orochimaru grinned. "Trust me Naruto, in this situation the only reasonable choice is for nine legal marriages to you. The only rank in wives here is whatever you and they impose on them. Which I don't recommend. Treat them like wives, not soldiers."

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" Naruto stated, without any doubt.

Jiraiya held up one finger though to bring up a point. "Although Naruto, you will have to pull rank once in a while. The girls are bound to argue with each other on occasion and it's your responsibility to ensure it doesn't get out of hand or tear anyone apart. Do what you can to please them as well as keep them from getting out of control, just like they'll be doing the same to you."

Naruto nodded. "Got it. Don't be spineless but don't be a dictator either."

"So am I going with Naruto-kun or not?" Temari asked, wanting an official answer.

Her father held up the written deal again. "Sign this and you can."

-End Flashback-

"Show me where the hot springs are Ruto-kun. I want to spoil myself with some water. We never do that back home." Temari told him as they walked thru the gates.

"Then how do you get clean?" He asked, not sure what to imagine since water usage in Suna was greatly restricted.

Temari grinned teasingly. "Would you like me to show you?" At his blush she giggled then gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

Isaribi walked up alongside them. "If you want to know where the best water is, I'll be happy to show you. I even know where the coed places are and the best places to go skinny-dipping are."

Temari smiled. "I'm listening."

* * *

After all the ninja who survived the battle went home, Orochimaru went to his office. There at his desk was his fill-in, the head of the Altos, busy doing paperwork and not looking happy about it.

"Dammit, I did not sign up for this mind-numbing crap." The substitute told herself.

"Actually, you did." Orochimaru jokingly told her from the doorway.

Immediately the seat-filler looked up and smiled. "Orochimaru-sama, so glad to see you. Subsonic-san already returned and told us the good news how Operation Burning Leaf was a success."

"Good. How have things been in my absence Guren?"

The purple-haired crystal user stood up and stretched. "Not bad. Nothing really happened, though I hated being cooped up in this office all day long. Was there really no one better than me to do your duties in your absence?"

"My teammates and the Sound Five were with me for added measure. Without them, naturally the head of the Altos takes command. Who else would have fit this role so well?"

"Maybe Tsunade-sama's assistant?" Guren suggested.

Orochimaru shook his head. "Shizune-chan's not a leader. She's more suited to follow. Besides, she already had a duty she couldn't ignore."

"I bet she's as relieved to be free of it as I am." Guren added.

* * *

At that time Tsunade was headed to her house, which as expected wasn't locked. "Shizune?"

"Oh good, you're home Tsunade-sama." Shizune said stepping into view from the kitchen wearing an apron. "Where's Jiraiya-sama?"

"He's busy at the moment with Naruto's parents. Where's Isato-chan?"

"Mommy!" A three year-old with spiky light blonde hair and brown eyes shouted as he scurried out of the kitchen, arms out ready to grab Tsunade.

The slug sannin smiled and knelt down, scooping up the little boy. "How's my little man? Were you good for Auntie Shizune?" The boy nodded but didn't stop hugging her.

Thanks to Naruto's Age Control, both Jiraiya and Tsunade ended up having a child a few years ago. They named him Isato Senju, and he looked exactly like a young Jiraiya with very light blonde hair. Tsunade prayed her son would not inherit his father's personality when older.

"He was fine, though he kept asking for you practically every hour." Shizune told her mentor, wiping her hands on her apron. "Your timing is good, I just made lunch. Well, for him anyway. I was about to make a sandwich for myself."

"Sounds good to me."

Shizune smiled and turned away, but then stopped. "Wait, Tsunade-sama, did you just say Naruto's parents?"

"Yes."

"As in plural?"

"Yes."

"How can that be?"

Tsunade smirked. "Oh boy have I got a story for you."

* * *

Jiraiya was with Kushina and Minato in the room in the Otokage Tower given to Kushina by Orochimaru. Another time Orochimaru was grateful he had the architects design it as a residence as well as a place of business. Kushina and Minato were seated on her bed while Jiraiya leaned against the wall.

"Okay, I didn't want to go into deal about this around prying eyes, but now I can tell you Minato exactly how we managed to resurrect you as we did." The toad sannin started.

"Please do. I thought it would be impossible given the Edo Tensei wasn't completed in my lifetime." The alive-again former hokage responded.

Jiraiya nodded. "It wasn't. But Orochimaru does wonders when he researches stuff. I bet if he had it in him he'd make books that would rival my own. Anyway, he did complete the Edo Tensei, but discovered it had specific conditions to work. For one, a living sacrifice must be made. A soul for a soul sort of thing. And the revived souls can be controlled, but that's not an automatic feature. Meaning the revived soul can turn against the jutsu user if not controlled with an add-on seal."

"So I can be controlled like a robot?" Minato asked defensively.

"I honestly don't know. It is possible, but rest assured none of us have that in mind for you." Jiraiya told his student. "Now, the effects of the jutsu are intended to never wear off until either the body is completely obliterated to the point regeneration is impossible, or the revived soul attains a peace it couldn't get in life. Like a dying regret being soothed, that general idea. But if none of that happens, then the revived soul keeps fighting until the user actually cancels it out. And the jutsu can last even if the user dies before canceling."

"So basically the jutsu on me hasn't been canceled yet?" Minato asked.

"Not particularly. What I described is the main set-up for the jutsu. But we didn't use that, we used a more effective means. You see, we found that the revived soul is basically a kyoushi, a zombie if you will, though not flesh-eating and decomposing. But not a true person brought back to life. After years of study we theorized there was only one possible way to accomplish such a feat. Bringing you back any other way would be cruel."

"Are you saying...?" Minato asked, but couldn't finish.

Jiraiya nodded. "After Tsunade-chan examined you on our way back, she found nothing unusual about your physiology, so we have no reason to believe it didn't work. It looks like you've truly been brought back to life. Congratulations, you've beaten even death itself Yellow Flash."

"But how did you do that?" Minato pressed.

"It wasn't easy. We needed two extra things. First, we needed a living sacrifice that was not only willing to be killed for this, but also dead for no more than two minutes. And second, we needed a fresh sample of your chakra. We got the first from a senior in Suna who was willing to be used, and the second was from the chakra you placed in the seal on Naruto. By getting all this done, we were able to bring you back to life."

"But without my chakra in his seal my son could-" Minato started.

Kushina cut him off and put her hand on his arm to pacify him. "He'll be fine dear. He and Kyuubi are actually on tolerable terms. Nothing should go wrong. Besides, he doesn't have my chakra in him anymore. He used it to get me out of my coma."

The former Yondaime still looked concerned. "Rest assured Minato that Naruto is fine." Jiraiya told him. "He was even happy to hear about it and was glad to help out. He already got his mother back, and now he gets his father too."

"Well I can't say I'm not glad to be back at least." Minato said with a chuckle.

"And the first thing you said to your dear wife was 'you've gotten older'?" Kushina asked, not threatening yet not completely joking either.

"I wasn't serious koi. You look just like you did last time I saw you, except without all the baby weight." Minato clarified.

Kushina smiled. "It's okay. I was kind of glad to hear your old joke again. Made me know my husband really was back."

Kushina and Minato had an old joke between them. One time a chuunin Minato had to go away for a mission that required him to be away for three months. Kushina, already dating him, told him she'd wait for him. When he got back, he smiled at her and said "Wow you've gotten old" a jibe at the Uzumaki longevity.

Needless to say Kushina didn't find it too funny. At least not the first time. He said it each time he came back to her after a mission that lasted more than a day, and she learned to laugh at it with him.

"Anyway, as I was saying, Minato you should be exactly the same as you were the last time you were alive. Down to the last detail." Jiraiya told him.

"But...?" Minato added, sensing there was more.

"There is of course a catch, besides the strict narrow requirements for a revival on such a scale. The catch is you only have so long to stay alive. Your lifespan is based on the sacrifice used. You gain the remaining lifespan the sacrifice had as your own, and when that's used up, you'll die of old age regardless of your own age."

"So, however long the guy who died for me was going to keep living, that's how long I've got left to live?" Minato asked. Jiraiya nodded. "How long is the estimate?"

"Kazekage-sama and Suna's medics said that old guy had another ten years in him or so. He wasn't a feeble old man or anything of the sort. He was just retired and he had no family remaining, so he figured what exactly would he be missing out on if he gave his life for this?"

"But still, I'm alive because someone else died. I... I feel guilty somehow." Minatos aid, his hands lightly quivering.

"Your son is alive because you died for him." Jiraiya told his student. "Like you Minato, the man who volunteered had lived a full life and died without regrets, knowing his death would not be in vain. Are you going to make his sacrifice meaningless by not using the life he helped you acquire?"

"No, I'm in no hurry to die again. Ten years is better than nothing. I just hope this jutsu isn't used all the time."

"Jiraiya-sama, I was wondering something." Kushina spoke up. "Couldn't Naruto use his Age Control to make Minato younger and give him more time?"

"I'm not sure. It might work, but it might also end up undoing the jutsu completely and we'd end up with a corpse. For now, let's not work about that. Maybe in a year or so we can try and see."

Minato nodded in understanding, thankful that along the way to Oto they explained to him about Naruto having nine kekkei genkai. "Hey, if Naruto can control people's ages, why not have him make the old man from Suna younger so I'd have more time to live?

Jiraiya was stunned silent then smacked himself in the forehead. "Dammit, why didn't I think of that before?"

"Don't beat yourself up over it Sensei. Like I said before, ten years is better than nothing. Hey maybe I'll get lucky and live longer." Minato said with a grin.

Jiraiya felt better. "Now, I'll let you two have some private time you couldn't get on the trip back here. Just remember to be in Orochimaru's office this evening." He then gave his super-pervert smile. "And try to keep it quiet. People live here after all."

* * *

Away from the girls for a little while, Naruto walked into Ichiraku's restaurant and saw Ayame and Teuchi at the counter. "Hey guys!"

The two chefs immediately perked up and smiled. "Naruto! Good to see you. Did you make chuunin?" Teuchi greeted.

"Don't know yet. I probably won't for a day or two." He said as he sat at the counter, seeing the restaurant wasn't empty. A few other customers and staff members came over to congratulate him for being in the chuunin exams and asked him how it went. Naruto only told what he felt was safe to tell, since some of the information was confidential. Information such as Minato's rebirth.

"Well we can't give you your promised free bowl until it's confirmed. Sorry." Teuchi told his favorite customer.

"Wait, we get a free bowl if we reach chuunin?" One of the academy students asked.

"That deal only works with our regular customers, not occasional customers." The old ramen chef replied, not wanting to make it sound like Naruto got special treatment here.

"Hey Naruto where's your girlfriend?" Ayame asked.

"She's with a few of our other friends right now, girl talk she said." He told her.

"Like how to make a polygamous relationship work between themselves?" Ayame asked.

Naruto blushed. "Uhh... I think so. I didn't really ask. They just said they wanted some alone time for an hour or two. When I go back they'll probably want to tell me something."

"I hope they're good to you. Just because they outnumber you doesn't mean they can dominate you in the relationship." Ayame told him.

"But I shouldn't dominate them either." Naruto added, remembering what Jiraiya advised him not too long ago.

Ayame smiled and nodded. "Right. In a relationship power is shared, not monopolized. Anyway, I just want you to be happy. Anko's not the only one to love you like a sister."

"So nee-san, have you found a boyfriend yet?" The whiskered blonde asked.

The brunette girl looked away. "Not yet, I can't find the right kind of guy. But enough about that, would you like your usual or something different this time?"

* * *

"So what are we all here for?" Tayuya asked as she and several others were gathered in Hinata's bedroom.

"Because for once all nine of us who want to be with Naru-kun are in one place at one time and I think we should set a few ground rules while we have the chance." Hinata said, looking over Isaribi, Haku, Fuu, Sasame, Kin, Tayuya, Temari, and Hanabi. Counting herself, this was Naruto's entire planned-out harem.

"Wait, then why is she here?" Sasame asked, pointing at Hanabi.

"Didn't you hear? I'm the ninth girl in the group."

"You can't be in this group. You're too young." Kin stated.

"I'm only three years younger than you. Temari-san is two years olders than you and Tayuya-nee-san is three years older. Besides I'm not going to be a kid forever and I don't see anyone else offering to join do you?"

"Actually that's something I need to tell everyone about." Fuu suddenly said, drawing everyone's attention. "I've been thinking about it for a while, and... I think we may have a problem here."

"What's that?" Her teammates asked.

"The thing is I have to be part of the harem. It's not just a matter of love, it's also a matter of my well-being. I care for Naruto-kun like no one else, since I share his situation. But this group is the only thing keeping me out of Taki." The green-haired jinchuuriki started.

"What do you mean? I thought that issue was resolved years ago." Hinata asked.

"It was put on hold, never resolved." Fuu clarified. "You know that the general population of Taki don't care about me one bit, but their governing body does see value in me by default because of my jinchuuriki status. They let me come here to Oto because they thought it would be wiser on their resources and time to have this village train me instead."

"They wanted you to be their weapon but they were too lazy to train you themselves?" Hanabi asked, not seeing the reasoning there.

"They were more apathetic than lazy. Plus I think they intended for me to be their mole, see what Oto and the sannin have to offer than take it back to Taki for their more favored ninja. Too bad they didn't count on me growing to love Oto more than Taki."

"Why would they think otherwise?" Hanabi added.

"I was just a dumb socially isolated kid back then. At the time I probably _would_ have sold out Oto to get some form of respect back in Taki. But being around Naruto-kun and being treated like a human being rather than a bug, sorry Shichibi, it made me feel... love. Love for this village. Love for the sannin. Love for my team. And yes, love for Naruto-kun. I can't go back to Taki, but if I don't have something ironclad holding me here, Taki may abuse the law or ignore it to get me back. They've only let me stay as long as I have in hopes I have more use to them as a chuunin than as a genin."

"Being part of Naru-kun's harem would give you a legitimate legal reason to remain in Oto no matter what your rank is." Hinata stated.

Fuu nodded. "Yes. If I become a member then I belong to a clan and any actions done against me by Taki would be considered an act of war. With Iwa and Suna to back us up Taki would have to be insane to do such a thing, especially with their greatest ally Konoha now recovering from its own attack."

'Hmm... I wonder if that was also part of the invasion plan or just a side-benefit.' Tayuya wondered. 'I'm going to go with side-benefit. We are on good terms with Taki after all but Fuu does kind of put that truce on a precipice.'

"The issue was brought up to Taki in the last meeting between village leaders, which was at the time I became genin. Shibuki-sama is on good terms with the sannin and has a lot of influence over Taki's other leaders, so he was able to strike up a deal. If I get a husband in Oto by the time I become chuunin and he comes from a clan, I get to stay in Oto with my new family. If he isn't, I have to go back to Taki with or without him."

"Naruto-kun would be enough to keep you here." Sasame commented.

Fuu nodded. "That's what Tsunade-sama told them. They knew he and I would be good for each other and wrote up a contract saying I'd get to be with him in Oto if we got together before I became chuunin." She then turned to Hinata. "So on paper, I've actually been promised to Naruto-kun long before you were even engaged to him. Don't worry, I won't usurp you. You were his first choice after all, something I was prepared to live with."

"But then... all this time you were worried you'd be sent back to Taki because he liked me more?" Hinata asked, shocked that this girl remained so calm. "Why didn't you try to make a move earlier?"

"I guess I love Naruto-kun more than I love Oto. I'd rather be in Taki than try and take his happiness away from him like that."

Hinata shed a tear but wiped it away. "Does anyone know how soon the results of the exam will be?"

"Usually it takes a week to confirm. Maybe longer if something with higher priority comes up." Tayuya answered.

Fuu looked at Hinata with wide eyes. "Wait, you don't mean...?"

Hinata nodded. "You are a deep friend of Naru-kun's and I don't want to be selfish about him anymore. And I don't think any girl here would deny you this chance." The other girls all shook their heads no, though Tayuya added a 'Fuck no' to it.

Fuu smiled and had happy tears in the corners of both eyes. "Thanks Hinata, but I'm afraid it's a bit more complicated than that. First, I need to be legally declared Naruto-kun's wife. Not just a mistress, a real wife. And I can't take that from you."

"You won't have to." Hinata said, surprising her. "Naru-kun told me on our way back here that Jiraiya-sama told him it's possible to make you all legally wives to Naru-kun and co-wives to each other. My marriage to Naru-kun will only have more standing if we decide it does, and that only matters in our private lives."

"Yeah, I was there when the old man said that." Temari noted.

"So, I can truly be Naruto-kun's wife?" Fuu asked and Hinata nodded. "And you'll let me marry him and consummate the union this week if we have to?" Hinata nodded again. Fuu smiled and hugged Hianta. "Thank you so much Hinata. I can only hope Naruto-kun is as willing as you are."

"If anything he'll be more willing to do this." Hinata replied.

"But only if you marry him first. I do need to do this soon, since it's very likely I'll become chuunin, but I think you deserve to be his first." The green-haired jinchuuriki stated.

"If I must I must." The byakugan wielder said but with no complaint whatsoever in her tone.

"What about the rest of us?" Kin asked.

"None of us are in as desperate a need as Fuu is." Temari told her. "She's at risk of deportation and never being able to see her loved one again so we have to give her some leeway here. The rest of us will get our turns in due time."

"And everyone, there's one more thing about my situation." Fuu added, making everyone more curious. "I still have to pass down my own bloodline too, but as we all know the odds of a child having two bloodlines is slim to none."

Elsewhere in the world, a redheaded woman with Lava and Boil Releases sneezed.

"Can't you just have some kids with one of Naruto-kun's bloodline and some kids with your own?" Haku asked.

"I could, that was my original plan. But that means I have to be pregnant twice as much as any of you all. And remember what Kushina-sama told us? A female jinchuuriki's seal is weakest while giving birth. So each time I have a child, we risk Shichibi getting released and me dying in the process."

That surprised the girls. Shichibi might not be a very hostile demon, but a released bijuu was always disorientated and vulnerable to outside influences like genjutsu, meaning a repeat of Kushina's birthing was not impossible for Fuu to experience. Oto would be at serious risk and a new jinchuuriki would have to be created at the sacrifice of even more life. Not to mention the loss of Fuu would devastate Naruto, who would lose a wife, a friend, and the mother of one of his children all at once.

"So what do we do?" Sasame asked.

Fuu took a deep breath. "The way I see it, we only have two choices. Either I risk it, or... and this is not easy for me to suggest, we bring a tenth girl into the harem."

"What?" The other eight girls asked.

"I know how it sounds, but here me out. I have to pass down my own bloodline too, but I can't have too many kids without risking my life and the entire village. If we include a tenth girl here, she could pass down the bloodline Naruto would have given my children so he passes down all nine of his and my own still gets passed down with him being the father."

Everyone thought it over, and Hanabi was the first to speak up. "I admit it at least has merit, but even if we went with it, who would the tenth girl be?"

"That I don't know. But we have time to figure that out." Fuu answered.

"A tenth girl would be the wise choice here." Kin thought out loud.

"But we set the limit at nine. If we go to ten, then what's to stop us from including an eleventh or a twelth? Where will the line be drawn if not nine?" Haku asked.

"A tenth girl would have to be the absolute most. The question is do we really need one?" Temari asked.

"We should have Naruto-kun be part of the decision. This affects him too." Sasame told them all.

Hinata nodded. "True. Let's ask him when he comes home. Until then, why don't we go over what we want all our own weddings to be like?"

That certainly got all the girls in a better mood.

_Before anyone complains, I want you all to know adding a tenth girl was not my intention from the start. But months ago when I thought over Fuu's situation I couldn't help but conclude a tenth girl would be of great benefit when you consider the factors I mentioned here. Before anything is confirmed, I'll give all my readers a chance to voice their opinions on it, be it for or against the idea of a tenth member. FYI, if approved ten will be the absolute maximum for harem members and choice for the tenth girl has already been made. _


	72. Memories

Ch. 72 Memories

Orochimaru was in his office going over things with Guren when Jiraiya, Minato, and Kushina walked in. Guren was quite surprised to see the Yellow Flash alive again. "Wow, I can't believe that theory worked."

"We got lucky on that one, but luck rarely repeats itself." Orochimaru commented. "What can I do for you all?"

"Should we announce my presence... Afrochimaru?" Minato asked then ended with a playful teasing smirk.

Orochimaru saw red and came right up to Jiraiya. "I ORDERED YOU NEVER TO BRING THAT UP AGAIN!"

"I didn't. He did." Jiraiya confidently replied, trying so hard not to laugh at his teammate's anger.

"What's going on Orochimaru-sama?" Guren asked, not seeing the problem here.

"Oh you didn't know?" Jiraiya asked. "Well one day a few years ago-"

"Shut up dobe or I swear you're going to regret it." The snake sannin threatened. Now Jiraiya was full-blown laughing.

Minato crossed his arms but looked pleased. "Sensei told us what our son did during his reckless phase. How he tampered with your shampoo and mousse and it resulted in your hair getting all curly and poofy, like an afro. And you couldn't get rid of it for days." He was trying not to chuckle at the mental image, as was Kushina.

Guren was surprised to hear this. "Naruto did that? Wow."

Orochimaru groaned and palmed his face. "I was so embarrassed I refused to show my face until it wore off. Then Jiraiya just had to see me like that. He gave me that stupid nickname on the spot."

The toad sannin still laughed. "You should have seen your face, Afrochimaru."

"Should I bring up what Naruto did to you that week dobe?" The leader of Oto retaliated, silencing his teammate. "Naruto left him a message saying Subsonic had something to tell him, but the message led him right into a prostate exam that Naruto already had scheduled for him."

Kushina and Guren laughed loudly at that, but Minato shivered and gave his sensei a shocked look. "How... could you, or any man, walk into a prostate exam without realizing it?"

Jiraiya's face was bright red and his rear was clenching from the memory. "I had no idea there had been an appointment made. The note asked me to meet Subsonic in a hospital room and given her civilian career I didn't think anything of it. It wasn't until I entered the room and saw a male doctor putting on a rubber glove saying I arrived just in time that I started to worry."

"And you didn't escape?"

"Of course I tried, but the door was locked, apparently by Naruto waiting outside. Then I was told until I had the test I'd have to be put on hold for shinobi duty on medical leave. I was trapped and had no way out."

"So to save face he lost his ass." Orochimaru added, a bit of mirth in his own voice and expression now that the tables have turned.

After the laughing died down, Kushina spoke up. "So what was Naruto's punishments for all this?"

"We didn't really punish him. I mean, he wasn't even a genin and he showed great capability in outwitting all three sannin in one week. Such talent kind of made punishing him feel a bit... contradictory to his education. Though we made sure he learned who not to target anymore." Orochimaru told her.

"Wait, all three? What did he do to Tsunade-sensei?" Kushina asked.

"You don't want to know." Both male sannin told her.

Minato cleared his throat. "Anyway, as I was saying before all this amusing reminiscing, should we announce my being here Orochimaru?"

"I think it wouldn't be wise, but at the same time I don't see how to avoid it." The snake sannin told him. "If we just come out with it, places like Konoha and Kumo are likely to hear of it soon and maybe even learn where we are. As Otokage I prefer to keep our location hidden a bit longer. But on the other hand we can't just hide you and keep you from having a public life because what would be the point of you being alive then? So I guess at the end of it all, the wise thing to do is let you handle it as you see it. Announce it to the entire village or go out and let the people see you themselves."

"Thanks Otokage-sama." Minato said.

"Minato, you're Naruto's father. You can call me Orochimaru when we're not on business like the others do. But don't you dare call me Afrochimaru again."

"Or what?" The former hokage asked comically.

* * *

Done with his ramen and having nowhere else to be, Naruto returned to his room and laid down on his bed. 'It's nice to be home and able to relax. Though it's kinda boring not having anyone to do anything with. It's hard to have fun on my own anymore.'

Ever since Oto was founded, Naruto always had someone to spend time with. Be it to train, study, play, or even so much as walk, Naruto was rarely without friendly company of some sort. And when one friend wasn't available, another always was. Of course he did have his moments of privacy, but they were rarely involuntary.

'Y'know, maybe there are more benefits to this harem arrangement than I originally thought.' He told himself. 'This whole time I've mostly been thinking about how it helps the village's future, not how it helps my own. Let's see... I'll always have company, I'll always have someone to care for who will care for me too, and... well, I guess it won't be too different from my life now except there will always be someone there next to me when I go to sleep or wake up. I'm just glad Hina-chan will be one of them.'

'I'm lucky to have Hina-chan in my life. She's my first friend as far as I can remember and she more than anyone else shares my pain with Konoha. Except for Anko-nee-chan, Kurenai-nee-chan, Kabuto-nii-san, and Yamato-nii-san, Hina-chan best understands what Konoha did to us. Someone in her old clan endangered her and the village looked away. I mean sure, maybe they didn't know, that I can accept, but they tried to kill her mother for doing what any decent citizen would do, and that shows disregard for it's own inhabitants right there.'

'Hina-chan has always been there with me when I tried to do anything. From normal ninja training to Neo-Byakugan training. Heck even when Ichiraku's reopened here she was the first to eat with me. And the time I broke my arm, she helped make it hurt less until Baa-chan got to me. I sometimes think Hina-chan and I were always meant for each other, which is why I can't be mad at her for what she was like when this whole harem thing started. If I had to share her with close to a dozen guys I'd probably be marking my territory too. Until she told me to stop like I had to tell her.'

There was a knock at his door, interrupting his train of thought. "Yes?" He called out.

In walked Subsonic, unmasked and dressed in a casual red blouse and black dress. "Hi Naruto."

"Subsonic, nice to see you." He told her.

"I'm off duty. You can call me by my name you know." Mikoto reminded him.

"Alright then. So why did you want to see me?" He asked.

"No reason. I just wondered how you're handling the aftermath of what all you've been thru." The former Uchiha matriarch told the blonde, who was like the son she never had, or for all basic purposes, the closest thing to a son she did have. She hadn't even heard anything about Itachi in over six years and Sasuke clearly was independent from her and somewhat indifferent to her. Naruto was sort of her surrogate son, and she in turn was sort of his surrogate mother until Kushina returned.

"I'm okay, mostly happy to be home. I'm glad to have my father back but I got most of the excitement of that out of my system on the trip back here. Now I'm letting them have some private time. They haven't had any in thirteen years."

Mikoto nodded. "Yeah, and I suspect they'll go on a second honeymoon in a couple of days."

"Shouldn't they get remarried then? I mean, it's 'till death do you part' and Otou-san did die after all." Naruto asked.

Mikoto blinked, having not considered that aspect. "That's a good point. But I don't think anyone would have the guts to challenge their connection, and even so we could just say they could get their vows renewed which would legalize their marriage again."

Naruto nodded. "That sounds good."

"Speaking of marriage, how are things with you and your future wives?"

"So far I think things are going fine. Hina-chan was a bit too possessive of me for a time but I managed to get thru to her. I'm not going to be a dictator to my girls, but I'm not going to let myself be henpecked by them either."

Mikoto nodded in support. "You'd probably lose a lot of appeal if you did, but of course you don't want to resist them too much. Women do like feeling like they have some control over the relationship."

"Ero-Jii-san warned me they like having all the control." Naruto replied.

"Some do, and some men like that. But for the most part he was just joking around. You'll find that most men you'll get advice from will joke just as much as they advise. But in all seriousness, I'd say let each woman feel valued but never at the total expense of your own. Sometimes you will have to make sacrifices for the one you love, but if they're right for you they'll make sacrifices too. Relationships are give and take for both, not one side gives and the other side takes. Anyone who thinks like that is better off not being in a relationship at all."

"That's going to be hard for me since it feels like I'll be given more than I'll give back." Naruto commented.

"I can see why you'd think that, given the numbers alone. But you'll be giving them everything they want Naruto. Love, fun, security, children, those are what they want right? Tell me why you think each girl wants to be with you and why you'd want to be with them."

Naruto took a deep breath before he answered. "Hina-chan's only ever wanted to share her life with me. We've always been important to the other, but never so important we forget about those around us. When she had to go away for a month to take those kunoichi-only classes to ensure the fangirls were weeded out of the curriculum, I was worried she'd lose interest in me. I was relieved that she didn't, that I wasn't her only reason for becoming a ninja. That's when I knew that Hina-chan was more than just my best friend, she was the one who'd make me happy, because she liked me for all the reasons I wanted to be liked by a girl."

"That's good. What about the others?" Mikoto asked.

"Isaribi-chan's always been a good friend of mine, even more since we became teammates. She taught me how to swim and I helped her learn to get used to being around others." Naruto answered, remembering how shy Isaribi was when she first joined Orochimaru's group. She was nervous and withdrawn, afraid of what others would do because of Amachi traumatizing her. Naruto was the one who got her out of her shell by being warm and cheerful around her, and it rubbed off on her, allowing her to feel like a person again rather than a lab rat.

"I think it was because of Isaribi-chan I learned how to be a friend, not just company or a sparring partner. In a way, she's as dear a friend to me as Hina-chan. I just couldn't share my training time with Isaribi-chan before the teams were made given our different styles, so Hina-chan sort of had a head start for my heart compared to her or the other girls. I want her to be happy, like all the others, no matter who she wants that from."

Mikoto smiled warmly. "Go on."

"Kin-chan was a good friend to me too. She helped remind me to train outside my bloodlines. I mean sure, when the adults told me I knew it was serious, but when I was a kid it was kind of hard not to. Most of my sparring partners were to help me learn how to fight in my nine minute windows of opportunity, but she helped me train for other times, and all by training with me. That was so simple an approach yet effective since she was at the same level I was at the time. I honestly think I wouldn't be as good as I am now without her help."

"And out of all my friends, I think none of them understand me better than Fuu-chan. Gaara too, but we're not talking about my male friends here." Naruto added.

"I would hope not." Mikoto joked.

"Anyway, Fuu-chan gets me in ways even Hina-chan can't. Whenever we've had doubts about our humanity, we both remind the other who and what we really are. And we both know what it's like to come from villages that put a large burden on us then take us for granted."

"It wasn't Konoha that made you a jinchuuriki Naruto, it was your father. I know what they did was bad, but you should never hold them accountable for what your father did." Mikoto corrected.

"I know. He wanted the best for me, but those that took his place had different ideas and turned the village against me. We don't know the full details of Fuu-chan's sacrifice, but it's safe to say the same basic thing happened to her. Or something worse." The whiskered blonde replied. "Fuu-chan deserves to be happy probably more than I do, and she told me the only one she wants happiness from is me. She even gave me my first kiss."

"She did?" Mikoto asked, surprised. "I thought it was Hinata who did."

"She wanted to, but Fuu-chan beat her. Just after she became a genin and I congratulated her, she kissed me by surprise and told me to get strong because she... wanted a husband stronger than herself. She hasn't said that since then, I think she was afraid to get between Hina-chan and me."

"Sounds like you really have her heart." The former Uchiha stated.

"I was really surprised, and when I told Hina-chan about it she asked me to kiss her. I was confused, but to be honest it was something I always wanted to do so I did. She told me she loved me and wanted to be my girlfriend. I told her I needed to think about it first because Fuu-chan was still on my mind, but since Fuu-chan was away a lot after that with team stuff it was easy for me to decide to give my time to Hina-chan more. Though I did still have fun with Fuu-chan when I could."

"I bet telling her you had a girlfriend was difficult."

He nodded. "It was, but she wasn't upset. I wonder if she had something arranged regarding me before I even knew what the council had planned for me."

Mikoto nodded. "It's possible. For legal reasons she does need a husband here in Oto to ensure Taki can never recall her. I wouldn't be surprised if maybe Otokage-sama arranged for her to be betrothed to you before any of the other girls."

"Then why would she have been told before me?" Naruto asked.

"She's older. She could handle it. Besides, once she was a legal ninja she would need to be informed in case Taki did anything. In any case, aren't you happy she wants to be with you like that?"

"I'm happy all the girls want to be with me like that. And I'm happy they have faith I can treat them all right."

Mikoto smiled, liking that answer. 'Doesn't make him sound conceited or like he's playing favorites.' "And what about the others?"

"Haku-chan's always been great to me. Like Hina-chan and Fuu-chan, she understands what it's like to have a lot of people hate you for things you can't control. We didn't spend a lot of time together at first, until we started the academy and were assigned together to work on an assignment. We argued a bit because we were both too stubborn for our own good, and I think she said she hated me back then. Then later on when she was being bullied and beaten by older kids I defended her and even got her to use her bloodline for the first time. After that she apologized and wanted to be my friend."

"Wow, and now she wants to be one of your wives?" Mikoto asked.

"It surprised me too. I just wanted another friend, not an enemy my own age. I don't know what I did to impress her so much, but to be honest I don't know that either with the other girls."

"Girls usually don't require so much from a guy at first Naruto. They do prefer a guy who's dependable and stable and can support them, but you don't have to act like a peacock showing off his feathers to get their attention." Mikoto told him. "I'm sure you won them over by being yourself, though I suspect your hyoton played a part in earning you Haku's affections."

"Y'know I actually picked that bloodline to show her I was someone she'd always be able to count on. She never really felt comfortable at school being one of the few in our class with a kekkei genkai, so I wanted to make her not feel alone by picking that to be one of my nine. Then we trained together in it under her mother and I think she finally warmed up to me as a true friend."

"Must be hard to make an ice user warm up to you." Mikoto joked.

Naruto smirked but said nothing, just changing the subject. "Sasame-chan was at first a regular sparring partner for me, as well as someone who helped me learn how to use weapons and tracking. I was already being taught that by others, but I kept quiet on it to make her feel good about what she was doing, and I even offered her pointers when she needed them. Me and her were always platonic as far as I saw, but I did value her friendship and help. I have no idea why she's interested in joining."

"Who knows? Maybe she just likes blonde guys. Or maybe like the others you did something for her out of the goodness of your heart and it greatly touched her own. That seems to be why these girls are so interested in being with you even on a shared basis Naruto."

"You think?"

Mikoto nodded. "Absolutely. You should be sure to ask Sasame and the others if you're uncertain, but go on, tell me about the others and what you think about them."

Naruto nodded. "Tayuya-chan was probably the least expected of them all if you ask me. Well, except for one other. Anyway, like Haku she wasn't really interested in being my friend at first, but unlike Haku she was quick to fight me when we argued. But she did at least tell me she admired the fact I didn't back down from her or go easy on her because she was a girl, and I told her why would that matter to me? I was surrounded by girls all the time so why would I think of them as weak? It was a long time later when she answered that and I finally understood her more, and made an effort to at least be on non-fighting terms with her. She didn't say it, but I think she was grateful for that and enjoyed my company even if we did fight, though by then we did it for fun and laughs, not anger."

"Temari-chan, I figured she'd find someone back in Suna for herself. I like talking to her and playing games, she's one person I've never been able to defeat in a game, but I did get lucky in one spar and defeat her. Boy was her face red. I think her exact words after that were 'now you're a man Ruto-kun', and I was a bit confused but thanked her."

"Oh wow." Mikoto said. "Naruto, most of the time when a girl says that to a boy, it means she likes him and hopes he sees her as a woman."

"Of course she is. I've always known that." Naruto objected.

Mikoto shook her head once. "No Naruto, I don't mean being aware she's a female. That's completely different. I mean, you don't think of Tsunade-sama or your mother as women do you?"

Naruto did not know how to respond to that. "Umm..."

"You recognize them as females, but the word 'woman' isn't one you'd use to describe them is it?"

"Not unless it was like 'older woman' or something." The blonde boy answered.

"You see my point then. Anyway, when a girl refers to a boy as a man in a positive way, it means she respects him and in some cases finds him appealing. And in almost all cases, it means she hopes he thinks the same about her, that she's a woman he respects and finds appealing too."

"So I impressed her and she decided that she thought we could be more than just friends?" Naruto clarified.

"More or less. I'd say she just wanted to know she had a chance with you, and she's happy to get it. She _is_ here after all, that must mean something."

Naruto slowly nodded in understanding. "In any case, I don't know what I did to get them, but I'm grateful all of them like me enough to try and I just pray I never disappoint them when they do become my wives."

"Naruto, I've got to warn you, there will come times when you make mistakes. Everyone does it, be they husband or wife. There will come days when you displease one or more of them and they'll do the same to you. Sometimes they may punish you for offending them, and sometimes they won't even tell you what it was you did, and sometimes some of the other girls may join in on it. It's possible there may someday come a night where you have to sleep alone. However, while sometimes you should take it like a man, if it ever looks like the girls are too comfortable punishing you, that's when you step up and remind them love is give and take."

Naruto sighed as if defeated. "Why is it almost everyone I get relationship advice from makes it sound like the girls' happiness always takes priority over mine?"

"For you Naruto, it should. A boy should prioritize how happy his girlfriend or wife is, but at the same time a girl should prioritize how happy her boyfriend or husband is. I'm not saying forget about your own and never do anything for yourself, just don't expect to get away with it all the time. Let the girls do it once in a while too, and you'll find most of them will prioritize your happiness as much as you prioritize theirs. Basically you give, and you get to take."

Naruto nodded. "That makes sense. But luckily I've still got a while to learn everything right?"

"As far as I know. Though don't assume once you're married you're done learning about relationships. You'll just be learning on new terms." Mikoto told him. "And that was only eight girls. You don't have all nine selected yet?"

Naruto now looked uncomfortable. "Well... technically."

"Technically?"

"Hina-chan kinda made a deal with her sister Hanabi-chan. For the time being she's considered the ninth member."

Mikoto tried to remember the girl, not easy since when she was in Oto over the past few years it usually was for business and not pleasantries. "Hinata's little sister, what is she, ten?" Naruto nodded. "She's either quite mature for her age, or likes to think she is. She may outgrow it in a few years so why make a deal with her in the first place?"

"Hina-chan didn't want to be a bad sister, and with Tayuya-chan actually vouching for her to join I didn't want to sound cruel. I've got nothing against Hanabi-chan, it's just I never pictured someone younger than me wanting to join in."

"So you got a thing for older women?" Mikoto joked.

"I don't want to be seen as a pedophile." was his simple response.

"So wait for her to grow up, or use your Age Control to make it happen sooner." Mikoto joked again.

"That's exactly what Tayuya-chan said." Naruto told her.

"Really?" Mikoto asked, surprised, then she thought it over from a serious angle. "I guess that could work. You think you might try it?"

"I can't say I haven't, but there's a lot to consider Mikoto-san." He told her. "First, she'd grow up and take on adult responsibilities faster than she would have alone. Second, she'd likely not be able to keep her friends her own age thanks to this. And lastly, there's the limits to consider."

"Limits?"

Naruto nodded. "Only a few people know this because I didn't want enemy nin finding out, but Age Control was never meant to be a permanent death cheater. Kyuubi liked the idea of the bloodline, but he said there had to be limits placed on it to ensure I myself and my descendants didn't start thinking of ourselves as unkillable with it. Especially when you remember that old age is the least likely way for a ninja to die." Mikoto nodded. "Anyway, there are three limits on Age Control. One, a person can only be affected by it nine times total. Not per user, total. After that the kekkei genkai doesn't work on them anymore. Two, you can't make someone so old or so young that they cannot still be alive. I couldn't make someone like 200 years old or fetal, but 100 years old or even a day old is possible. And three, it's a recessive bloodline to ensure we never have too many ninja here making people stay young as long as possible. Only the firstborn can inherit the kekkei genkai, but children that don't can still pass it down to their firstborn."

"When you consider the risk of overpopulation I can see why such limits are needed. In a decade or two the population would get too much if the only reason anyone died was because of battle. Civilians would want to be young again too, not just old shinobi anxious to live again."

"Exactly."

"But in all honestly, you'd just be using it on Hanabi once and you and her would be sure to teach your child not to use it recklessly so what's the risk you're afraid of?"

Naruto sighed. "It just seems like too much of a sacrifice for her."

"It's still her sacrifice to make Naruto. And thus it's her choice to make. I'm not saying she should, but if she is willing then why not give her the same chance you'd give the others? You said you have nothing against her."

"I'm in an awkward situation here. If I keep her on and she decides to see another boy, I have to find a new ninth girl and I don't think I can without it being a purely political marriage if that happens later. And if I look for a ninth girl ahead of time Hanabi-chan will take that as a sign she's not wanted and be crushed."

"Is she not wanted?" Mikoto asked.

"I just don't want to hurt her Mikoto-san."

The older woman sighed and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Naruto, sometimes pain is inevitable. No one goes thru life without being the cause of some pain, and like it or not sometimes no matter what you do or intend someone will still get hurt. Damned if you do and damned if you don't. You'll drive yourself crazy trying to find options where no one gets upset, and frankly, if you want to become Otokage someday you're going to have to learn how to do what's best even if it's not painless."

"Sometimes I think being Otokage will be easier than having nine wives."

"It very well could be." Mikoto replied with a grin.


	73. Complications

Ch. 73 Complications

Later after Mikoto left, Naruto sighed and drudged out of his room. "I really should see someone about this."

It was still daylight but not for much longer so he knew he might encounter someone, but he had too much on his mind for idle conversion so he hoped to avoid it.

Before he left the Otokage tower he did see someone and they saw him. "Hi Naruto-kun. I missed you." She said as she came up to see him.

"Hi Hanabi-chan, nice to see you again."

"I wanted to see you earlier, but Nee-chan said you needed some time just to yourself. I didn't like that since I hadn't seen you in over a month, but I didn't want to bother you either."

"I'm fine now Hanabi-chan, and actually you were one of the people I wanted to see today."

The girl perked right up. "Really? You wanted to see me?"

"You and one other person. A lot has been on my mind lately and I figured the two of you could help me on at least one of the things I keep thinking about."

"Sure I'll help you. I'd do anything for you Naruto-kun."

'That's what I'm afraid of.' He thought. "C'mon, I've got to go see Ero-jii-san."

"I'll help you find him." Hanabi offered, and before Naruto could say anything she activated her byakugan. "Ah good, he's here in the tower. He's busy with Otokage-sama but we can wait can't we?"

"Guess we have to."

"So why did you want to see me?" Hanabi curiously asked.

"I don't want to say it twice, so let's wait until Ero-jii-san is here too so you both can here it."

The girl nodded. 'It must have something to do with me being in his harem. But what is he looking for?' She wasn't sure what to say, but she knew that she had to do something or risk losing her right as a member. Problem was addressing him on the issue was a loaded gun.

"Wanna play a game while we wait?" She asked, settling for something safe.

* * *

Later on Jiraiya left Orochimaru's office and encountered the two seated in the hall playing a card game. He had no idea what game they were playing or who was winning, but he could tell they were waiting for someone they couldn't interrupt.

"You two been waiting long?" He asked when he came up to them.

"Ah, Ero-jii-san, just the person I wanted to see." Naruto replied.

'I wish he'd stop calling me that. I'm glad he won't around my son, but would it kill him to call me something a bit more dignified?' The toad sage thought before speaking. "What do you need me for?"

"I needed some expert advice on something and you're the only person I can think of who can provide it on this subject." He told him.

Naturally Jiraiya got curious about this. "I'll be glad to help if I can."

"Well, it involves Hanabi-chan here." Naruto admitted, feeling a bit uncertain but determined to say what he needed to. "Hina-chan and her have a deal arranged so she counts as the final member of my required harem. We have been told of a way to safely include her, but before we do anything, I'd like to hear an outside opinion on this."

Jiraiya was stunned. "Say what? Naruto she's ten."

"I know. But Age Control can get around that."

"You shouldn't abuse your power for things like that."

"I'm actually in favor of the idea." Hanabi interjected.

"What?" Jiraya asked, mostly out of curiosity than disbelief.

"Who do you think first came up with it?" The young girl asked. "I'm aware it sounds weird, but can't I at least make my case before someone else decides for me whether or not it's even an option?"

Naruto nodded. "That's actually why I wanted you here Hanabi-chan. You say what you want, I mention my concerns, and Ero-jii-san gives us an outside perspective on it. Since he's a super pervert he should be the one most open-minded to the discussion."

Jiraiya didn't look too convinced but he didn't argue it. 'I suppose with so many women around him all the time once in a while he needs the opinion of another man. And when the subject is dealing with women I can see why he'd seek me out. Still, this issue is highly risky, but at least he's not rushing into it blindly.'

Seeing no objection, Hanabi cleared her throat and started. "First of all, I have one question that will settle a lot of confusion here. Jiraiya-sama, is there a time limit on how long Naruto-kun is allowed to find enough official members?"

Not expecting that, the sannin thought it over. "Oto law states that for those under the CRA, which Naruto is under, one month per assigned candidate is the time allotment. So Naruto had nine months starting from the day he became a genin to find enough girls willing to participate."

"And what makes them official participants?" Hanabi asks.

"Well the law gives three conditions to make membership official, any one of which can be met but it has to be one of them. The first is pregnancy with Naruto as the confirmed father. The second is a legalized marriage and a physician able to confirm that the marriage was consummated voluntarily. The last is a mutually accepted betrothal contract between the man and woman that promises marriage but requires it to be held at a more opportune time past the CRA deadline. Any girl that doesn't meet those terms at the deadline is barred from being a part of the resorted clan."

"Ok, that helps a bit." Hanabi said. "So far we've been under the impression that the only option I had was to be forced to become older. Now that we know my mother can create a betrothal contract with Naruto-kun's legal guardians that pressure is off and we can discuss this much more rationally."

Naruto smirked. "Hanabi-chan, sometimes I swear you're older than you look."

She smiled back at him. "Thanks Naruto-kun. Anyway, we can have my mother and your parents arrange this if nothing else, but I think we should first talk about the assumed plan of using Age Control on me. I know of the changes to my life it will cause, but it will have benefits."

"Such as...?" Naruto asked, wondering what her answer might be.

"I won't feel so singled-out among the others and can do my part in the group sooner. It will also make it easier for me to defend myself in case Konoha ever manages to find us. And it's only three years. It could be worse, and is Naruto-kun really patient enough to wait that long?"

"No comment." He answered.

"So in short, I'm more than willing to be aged three years and officially married with all the responsibilities that come with it. And yes, I'm aware of what that requires. Okaa-san made sure to tell me everything about sex and menstruation while everyone was away in Konoha. I'm willing to jump forward to that part of my life, but if everyone else is set against it, then I'll agree to a betrothal contract like with Neechan and Fuu-san."

"Fuu-chan?" Naruto asked, then looked at Jiraiya. "I was arranged to marry her all this time?"

"Due to an international technicality, yes." Jiraiya answered. "But since you voluntarily selected her it all works out anyway so don't worry about it."

"Also, she said something you really should know Naruto-kun. I'll let her tell you herself though." Hanabi told the whiskered blonde. "Naruto-kun, what do you think of what I told you about myself?"

"I understand everything you said Hanabi-chan, but people might still not like it." He told her.

"I'm not asking what other people think. I'm asking what you think, and I know for a fact you don't let other people make up your mind for you."

"That's when they talk about me. It's not the same when they talk about someone close to me." Naruto countered.

"Naruto-kun, do you have any enemies here in Oto who would hurt you for taking me as a wife? Or me for choosing to become older?" Hanabi asked.

"People that would think I was being a pedophile, and we'd both be stuck with that stigma for the rest of our lives." He answered. "Even if I make you look older than me, you'd still be legally ten years old, and ten year olds can't get married." He turned to Jiraiya. "Am I right?"

"Yes. For the time being Age Control doesn't circumvent the law. Even if you made her look as old as I am now-"

"Real age or altered age Jiraiya-sama?" Hanabi interjected. Chronologically Jiraiya was 50, his body was now 34 like Orochimaru, with Tsunade being 33.

"Doesn't matter. You'd still be legally ten and even the CRA says the youngest marriageable age is 13 so contract's your only option, if you can actually get your mother and his parents to agree to it. Like it or not kid, you have to wait."

"Actually, you did provide me a loophole to that." Hanabi pointed out.

"Like what?"

"That's for me and Naruto-kun to discuss, not you."

Jiraiya did not like the sound of that. "In that case, I only have this to say: I think this thing between you two is a bad idea."

"What?" Hanabi asked, sounding mildly worried.

"My opinion was requested and I'm giving it. I think you being one of his betrothed is a bad idea."

"Why?" Hanabi asked.

"It's not a good idea for a child be so eager to become an adult. You have no choice but to wait until you're older naturally and without Age Control, so you have to wait three years. A lot can happen in that time. You might lose interest in being with Naruto, or he might find someone better suited for the role you want. You never know."

Hanabi looked undaunted. "I understand, but Jiraiya-sama, let's say hypothetically Naruto-kun did accept me as one of his girls. Would you or anyone you know try to stop us?"

Jiraiya was silent for a moment before responding. "There probably would be at least a few that might not be in favor of it, but in all fairness the same could be said of any of the other girls. But in all honesty I doubt anyone would use force on the issue. But I still say this is a bad idea."

"Thank you Jiraiya-sama." Hanabi said. "Then there's only one last thing to cover."

"And what's that?" The toad sage asked.

Hanabi turned to Naruto. "Naruto-kun, would you accept me as your ninth girl?"

This question surprised Naruto, but it also pleased him to hear it. 'I'm actually being allowed to decide this one for myself. The first time was mostly between Hina-chan and her, and my opinion wasn't really requested then. Nice to know it is here, like with all the other girls.'

He looked at her then Jiraiya then back to the white-eyed girl. "Hanabi-chan, I shouldn't have to make this decision under pressure. I still have two months to get a ninth girl, so I would rather not be forced to decide all of a sudden. Can you be patient a little longer?"

"I can, but only if you can promise me you're not just trying to avoid saying no right now." Hanabi told him.

He knelt down and looked her in the eyes. "I promise I am not simply trying to avoid hurting you."

She smiled and hugged him. "Thanks Naruto-kun."

"Now that that's settled, you should probably go see Fuu as soon as you can." Jiraiya told him.

"Either of you know where she is?" He asked.

"I think she's at her apartment right now." Hanabi said. "We were talking together but she decided to head home early for some reason."

"Mind if I go see her now?" He asked.

Hanabi shook her head. "Go, I'm sure she's not too busy." Jiraiya nodded.

Naruto smiled. "Thanks guys. I'll see you both later." He then headed off and down the tower floors. At the bottom before the door out, he ran into Hinata, who looked like she had been waiting for him.

"Naru-kun!" She said happily when she saw him, and came over to hug him.

"Done with your girl talk already?" He asked, holding her to him.

"We girls don't spend all day being chatty." She told him.

"I hope not. Anyway, were you waiting for me?"

She nodded. "I had a feeling you were about to go out, so I waited. Did you need to go out on your own or can I join you?"

"Not sure, Hanabi-chan told me Fuu-chan had something to tell me and I was going to see if I could ask her directly what that was."

Hinata deflated a bit but didn't look crushed. "Oh, yeah that's something you two should discuss right away. I'll just wait for you to come back then."

Sensing her small amount of discomfort, he kissed her. "I love you Hina-chan, never forget that."

"I won't." She said, hugging him tighter. "I'm not jealous or anything, just worried about how you'll react to what she'll say."

"I know what will make you feel better." He said, pulling back from her a bit. He pulled out a tiny scroll from the inside of his sock and opened it, revealing nine seals inside. He drew blood across the one marked with a 1 and smoke emerged, followed by a diamond ring. "I was saving this for a private moment when we got back home. Let this remind you that you were always my first choice."

'Kami if I'm dreaming I swear my pillow is going to be ripped to shreds when I wake up.' Hinata immediately thought, overwhelmed by what she was experiencing.

"Hinata-chan, will you marry me as my first wife?"

The Hibiki heiress instantaneously latched onto him crying tears of joy. "YES! YES! A THOUSAND TIMES YES!"

"Never heard you shout before." He chucked, then placed the ring on her.

"I've never had a reason to before." She told him, feeling like she could barely contain herself.

"Is something wrong? I heard a scream." Hitomi said, coming down the hall quickly. She had been in a bit of a panicky mood ever since the invasion. She had sent Hinata a shadow clone of herself, just one as that was all she could manage, and sealed it away so Hinata could use it to demoralize the Hyuuga during the invasion. Since the clone dispelled and she gained it's memories Hitomi was still a bit jittery that someone from Konoha might come after her daughter.

"Oh you heard a scream, but nothing's wrong." Hinata teased her mother, then showed off her left hand.

"Oh wow, where did he get that gem?" The older byakugan-wielder asked, impressed by the cut of the stone.

"That's my little secret." He said. 'Thanks Guren.'

* * *

Five minutes later, Naruto was by himself at the door to Fuu's apartment. "Fuu-chan?" He said as he knocked exactly seven times. 'I'll never forget what happened the one time I forgot she rigged her door with a trap.'

The green-haired jinchuuriki always had her apartment rigged with traps to keep unfriendly people away, further proof of how much Taki had hurt her before she left the village. But also it kept her mind sharp in that field and allowed her to experiment in trap preparations. So only people who knew the exact way around it could get into her apartment.

The one time Naruto forgot the process, he ended up flying like an angry bird, and landed in a river outside the village walls.

After exactly seven knocks, a panel aside the door pulled away revealing a sign. It read 'Back door unlocked. Pleases enter thru there.' This was of course another trap, as no one in a ninja village would actually give such an invitation. Those that knew Fuu knew the real message was 'I'm here but not able to come to the door right away, please wait a little longer.' Anyone who actually did try to enter thru the back door would find themselves hit below the belt by a spring-loaded trap. What exactly they were hit with Fuu tended to change sometimes, from boxing glove to cattle prod or even her old garbage.

So Naruto stood outside her front door, waiting for her to answer. 'I wonder what it is she needs to tell me.'

The door opened a crack, and Fuu peeked out, her eye and some green hair being all that was visible. "Hi Naruto-kun, I'm glad to see you. Come on it if you want." She disappeared behind the door and opened it further, but she couldn't be seen.

Confused a bit, he walked in. It looked normal, or at least how he remembered it, albeit still a little dusty from her absence. Fuu didn't have much, mostly a small couch, a tv on a few blocks, a low table, and in her bedroom a futon and dresser. Other than that, common apartment features. It was exactly like a bachelor pad but to Fuu it had always been more than enough.

"Haven't finished dusting yet I see." He noted as he came in, still not seeing her. "You did disarm all the traps right?"

"All but the perimeter defending ones. You know those ones stay up." Fuu told him as she closed the door. "I know, I know. I'm paranoid, but living as an urchin who's hunted for seven years tends to do that to a girl. Especially when we're taught to do our line of work."

"Oh no judgment on my end. I could have easily become the same way." He said, turning around to face her. Once he did, he stammered and lost his composure right away.

Why? Because Fuu was completely wet and covered only by a green towel wrapped around herself.

She saw him look caught off-guard, and smiled with a bit of a blush. "Sorry about this. I just got out of the shower when you came over. Don't be so shy, you did see me naked and wet back before the preliminaries remember?"

"I didn't forget. I just wasn't expecting to see it again." He told her. "Is now a bad time?"

"Actually, it's a perfect time since it's just us. Just let me dry off first. Don't want to get the couch wet." She said. He nodded and she retreated back to the bedroom. But again to his surprise, she didn't close the door as she dried herself off.

"You want me to see you, don't you?" He asked.

She turned to him with a coy smile, showing him her bare front side as she dried off her back. "Why not? Don't you like what you see?"

"You're very beautiful Fuu-chan. But I wasn't expecting to see this so I'm a bit... surprised I guess is the best word."

Fuu giggled and started drying her hair. "I was the same when I saw you skinny-dipping that time. But I didn't stay surprised for long."

"Why is it that I only hear men being accused of being perverts yet the majority of perverts I've seen are women?" Naruto asked himself.

Fuu giggled but otherwise ignored his question. When she finished getting dry, she put on her underwear then a white tank top and pair of shorts. Then she went to the couch and sat on it. "Sit, relax, get comfy."

"Just glad you're a little more dressed. What you were wearing was a bit distracting." He told her as he took a seat next to her.

Fuu shrugged. "You expect me to believe a big strong ninja such as yourself can't avoid a little distraction?"

"You're teasing me aren't you?"

Fuu smiled and stretched for a moment."What gave me away?"

"If I told you you'd slap me."

Fuu smirked and playfully batted his shoulder. "You're so bad."

"Maybe, but you still like me." He said, enjoying the friendly mood between them.

Fuu reached over and hugged him. "That I do. Very much so Naruto-kun."

"Was there something you wanted to tell me Fuu-chan?" He asked, thinking now was a good time to bring up the reason he came over.

Fuu let go of him but remained close. "Naruto-kun, in a nutshell, if I get promoted to chuunin, I may be forced to go back to Taki."

"What? Why?" He asked, worried for her. He knew she had about as much desire to move back to Taki as he did to move back to Konoha.

"It's part of the terms that were given by Taki when I came here. They predicted someday I might become strong enough to be useful so they demanded that if I ever became chuunin I had to go back and transfer to their forces. If Oto refused Taki would retaliate."

Naruto frowned. "That's bull!"

"I agree, but Taki's council refused to let me come here without something to ensure I would have to come back. They may have disliked me, but they did know I could become useful. They just thought it was smarter for Oto to train me instead of them."

"Just sounds stupid to me." Naruto claimed. "Did they really believe you'd have more loyalty to them than to us?"

"I doubt they really cared about that."

"Is there anything we can do to keep you here?" He asked, gently grasping her arms as if to keep her from going anywhere.

She smiled at his care and nodded. "There is. Luckily Shibuki-sama and I think one or two others did set up a loophole for me to stay here even as a chuunin in case I didn't want to go back. And you can help me Naruto-kun."

"How?" He asked.

"I know this is asking a lot of you, but... I need us to be married before I officially get promoted."

"What?" He asked, mostly to get her to be more specific.

"Y'see, unless I've got something tying me to Oto that Taki can't ignore without repercussions, legally I'll be forced back there to prevent a war between our villages. Such a war would attract attention to our village we don't want. But it was agreed that if before I became chuunin I managed to become an official member of a clan of Oto, then they'd have to let me stay here with the clan. So if I marry you this week, Taki cannot make me go back. There's no way they'd argue with us if we have your parents to back us up."

"Then wouldn't they be able to back us up if we weren't married?" Naruto asked. "Not saying I won't consider it, just saying there's a hole in what you're telling me."

"I see what you meant, but consider this Naruto-kun. If we weren't married and stood up to Taki like that, it would be like saying 'We don't care what we agreed to, we're keeping the jinchuuriki and if you don't like it I dare you to fight the Yellow Flash over it'. Basically, that's being a political bully. And ninja villages don't take being bullied very well. I guarantee Taki would find some way to get revenge on us for doing that. If we were married, we would have the moral high ground so they couldn't ethically do anything about it."

Naruto arched an eyebrow. "Since when do ninja only do things if it's ethical?"

Fuu giggled and rolled her eyes. "Okay, you got me there. But my gut tells me this is the best way to avoid a scandal. And I get the feeling that you and I will be promoted by the end of this week so I wanted to ask now. And before you say anything, me and Hinata have already discussed this and if you accept she will to, but she and I both agree you should fulfill your promise to marry her first."

Naruto slowly nodded, realizing how much this meant to her. "One last thing Fuu-chan, you said you need to be part of a clan. Have you considered the option of being adopted into one? You know Baa-chan always did like you and would have gladly made you a Senju."

Fuu had once been offered to live with the others and since Tsunade had taken a shine to the young girl when she first came to Oto she could have been part of a famil for years now. However, Fuu always declined the offer, saying she was too used to living on her own to comfortably embrace any other lifestyle. This was the main reason she lived in an apartment.

"I know, but it could take days to make it official and Taki would see right thru such an effort. But a betrothal contract was made between you and I when I became genin so Taki couldn't argue us getting married is just something done to circumvent them."

"So we really did have a contract between us? For over a year now? Why wasn't I told?" He asked.

Fuu shrugged. "You should ask Otokage-sama, not me."

Naruto closed his eyes for a moment. 'She does have a solid argument. Kyuubi, what do you think?'

"If it were me kit, I'd say go for it and make her your mate." The fox told his host. "After all, do you really have a reason not to?"

He opened his eyes and looked back at Fuu. "Fuu-chan, is this what you want?"

"I think the real question is what do you want Naruto-kun?" She asked him back.

"You're one of my best friends, you understand me in a way few others can. I need you in my life Fuu-chan, whether you be a friend or a wife, as long as you're with me, we'll both be better off than we ever could be without each other." He then stroked the side of her face as his other hand went for his secret scroll to unseal an emerald ring. "Fuu-chan, will you marry me?"

She teared up immediately and threw herself at him. "YES!" She hugged him tightly and nuzzled his chest, having never felt so happy and safe in her life. 'Even if he's only asking me now to protect me, it's enough to know he wants me as his wife.'

"Even if you don't get promoted, I'll still marry you." He whispered to her, making her feel giddy for once in her life.

"Thank you Naruto-kun. This means a lot to me." She replied, in no hurry to let him go. She did let him loose long enough to put the ring on her finger though.

"Was there anything else we should talk about?" He asked.

"Just one more thing. I've been thinking it over, and talked this over with the other girls, and... I think you need a tenth girl."

"What?" He asked, not expecting that. "A tenth? Shouldn't nine be enough?"

"This isn't about that Naruto-kun. Hear me out." Fuu told him, then explained her reasoning for the necessity of a tenth girl. She told him everything, how she was at high risk during birth, how it would make passing her bloodline down too as well as his own easier, and how this would reduce her need for multiple pregnancies.

"That makes a lot of sense Fuu-chan." The whiskered jinchuuriki told his friend. "Too bad finding such a girl is going to be difficult."

"We'll manage. I'm sure there's another girl out there who'd be honored to be with you like the rest of us are."

"Let me think it over. I don't want this to be decided on a whim." He said, and she nodded. "Anything else?"

"Nothing that can't wait a bit longer. Right now, all I want to do is be held by my fiancee." She then turned to face him. "What about Hinata? She's going to be upset I was the one you proposed to first."

"Actually, I already did. Just before I got here, but I had planned on it since before we went to Konoha."

"Lucky girl. And lucky me too." The green-haired jinchuuriki said before getting comfortable again. "Do you think she'd be jealous if you stayed the night?"

"Um..."

"Please Naruto-kun? I want to know what it's like to sleep and wake up in your arms." She tried giving him the sad puppy eyes.

"Only as long as sleep is all that happens. I promised Hina-chan those activities first too." He told her.

She nodded. "I can wait. This will just make the wait easier." She then got comfy in his embrace again. 'Try and take me from him now Taki. I'll squash you like a bug if you do.'

"Hey!" Shichibi said to it's host.

'Sorry Shichibi, but am I wrong?'

"No, just try a different phrasing next time."

* * *

Hinata was in her bedroom writing in her diary. 'It finally happened, Naru-kun proposed. I'm wearing the ring right now. He got me a diamond!' She paused to stare at her ring happily admiring it. 'I know I've said this before, but this time it's not just conjecture, I'm about to become Mrs. Uzumaki. Or Namikaze, I'm not yet sure which name I'll be taking, but I do think Hinata Uzumaki sounds better than Hinata Namikaze. Either way, as long as Naru-kun is my husband I could be Mrs. Anything for all I care. Except Hyuuga. Don't want that name back. Ever.'

There was a knock at her door and it opened before she could approve. In walked Naruto, making her smile and get up from her bed. "Welcome back koi." She said much like a wife greeting her husband.

"Hi Hina-chan. I'm a shadow clone, here to tell you that Fuu-chan wants the real me to spend the night with her. They won't have sex or anything like that, but he did propose to her too and she really wants to spend one night alone with him."

Hinata at first didn't like this, but calmed herself before she did anything. 'I'm the same way so I understand her for wanting this. Besides, I get to sleep next to him all the time on missions and during the past month so I guess I can give her one night just for herself.'

"Alright, he can stay there tonight with her. But let him know I'd like him to send me another clone so I can in some way hold him tonight as well."

The clone nodded and dispelled, and Hinata looked outside. 'Two down, seven or eight to go.'


	74. Shame

_In case anyone's confused by last chapter I don't intend on taking Hanabi out of the harem. That debate was covered long ago and the decision made, and I'd really rather not ask the same question twice. I just needed the characters to address some concerns rather than be blissfully ignorant of the issue._

_Also, to let everyone know, my Best Naruto Story poll will be closed on December 31st. On January 1st I will reopen the Best Author poll with the same list I accumulated last year. Let's see if anyone there has improved over the year._

Ch. 74 Shame

The week after the invasion morale was at an all-time low in Konoha for various obvious reasons. Some of their own had died, they had been defeated by a relatively obscure enemy and their supposed ally, and several respected members of their own forces had betrayed them before it even started with the intention of that invasion happening.

Good moods were hard to come by right now.

Most of the ninja were in denial about what all they had seen and heard. Despite the testimony given and logical conclusion of everything they had been told, they wanted to believe it had all been a trick. Of course, not all of them could.

"Damm those ninja! If I see a single one ever again in ANY scenario I'm killing them!" Asuma declared angrily while he was drinking in a bar. Accompanying him were Kakashi and Gai.

"I can't believe Sensei switched to their side." Kakashi muttered ruefully. "They had to have tricked him somehow."

"You know that's not true Kakashi." Gai told his friend. "You heard him, he sacrificed his life for us all and he only had one wish, which as a whole was not honored. If I were in his place, I'd feel more than a little spiteful myself."

"But we didn't know. He should have understood that." Kakashi defended.

"How does that make it okay Kakashi?" Gai asked, sounded a bit angered. "How is ignorance an excuse for violence? Are you saying it's perfectly okay to harm someone, even a child, as long as you don't know who they are or where they came from?"

"I'm not like that." Kakashi said, defensively.

"Bullshit." Gai said, surprising others with his vulgarity. "I recall on the day after the Kyuubi attack you were one of the first to call for the baby's death. Since you were the Yondaime's only student left we figured you of all people would best know what he was capable of doing. You led, nay _encouraged_, all of us to think the worst about the boy."

"But didn't you hear? The Uchiha did a village-wide genjutsu. I was a victim too."

Gai rolled his eyes. "Even if I believe that, your sharingan, which you had at the time, should have given you some resistance to the genjutsu."

"But it was still new to me. And my other eye was vulnerable to influence." Kakashi pointed out.

Gai looked like he was disgusted. "Kakashi, do you even regret what you've done? All I'm hearing is you trying to justify your actions, as if you shouldn't feel guilty for them in the first place."

"But I was misled like all of you were. No one ever told me you could seal a demon into a human without it taking control of the human. You've seen movies like The Exorcist. What was I _supposed_ to think?" Kakashi asked.

_(AN: In this story Kakashi did not know Kushina was a jinchuuriki. Besides, there's nothing in canon that confirms he did know.)_

"You were supposed to have faith in your sensei." Gai told his rival. "And if a student doesn't have faith in the teacher, no one else will."

* * *

In the meeting room of the councils, the shinobi council had gathered together to try and select a hokage. With Sarutobi, Homura, Koharu, and Danzou now dead, it was left to just the clan heads. So far options for Godaime Hokage were limited, and the debate showed little sign of ending soon for several reasons.

"All this arguing is getting us nowhere. Shikaku, please reread the procedures so everyone will settle down and be civil again." Inoichi said to cease the endless bickering.

The Nara head groaned and pulled out the book on Konoha law, reading from the marked page. "In the event the Hokage is killed and no replacement was appointed, the role must first be filled by the preceding Hokage unless they are dead or physically or mentally incapable of doing the job again. In that situation, it falls to the Shinobi Council to decide up a suitable Hokage to take the mantle and fill the role until the role is taken."

"We know this already." Tsume irritably said.

Shikaku ignored it. "The Shinobi Council is required to select a candidate from a list of specific criteria in order to ensure the right person fills the role. The candidate must be a registered member of the Konoha shinobi forces who has not retired or been forced to leave the line of work. The candidate must be jounin rank or higher and have no less than a year's experience in such rank. The candidate must still be capable of fighting in war if needed. And as first instated by the Sandaime, then removed by the Yondaime then reinstated by the Sandaime in his second term, the candidate cannot be a jinchuuriki."

"The Shinobi Council is themselves able to select any person who fits the above requirements, but no one involved in the vote is allowed to nominate themselves. Attempts to do such or second the nomination will be considered invalid. While members of the council are not forbidden from being nominated, they are not allowed to nominate themselves or other members of their clans. Such activity is grounds for questioning if the self-nominator is truly working in Konoha's best interests and can result in a T&I session to uncover the motive."

"What's your point?" The representative of the Sarutobi clan asked. He was Koshiro Sarutobi, brother to Asuma and father to Konohamaru. Unlike his brother, Koshiro didn't have a falling out with his father and stayed in Konoha. He was a talented jounin and had signed the monkey contract, but he was more of a technician than a warrior. He worked in the decoding department and T&I department, and would often work on the machinery they had to make the jobs easier. Like his brother, he was very angry at Oto for his father's death.

"My point is you all have spent the past few days trying to get either someone from your own clan elected or someone who would rush to war right away. What we need right now is someone who can get Konoha back on it's feet before it tries to knock another village's off its own." Shikaku stated.

"And if you're so smart then who do you think should be Hokage? You?" The new representative of the Hyuuga clan challenged. He was Hiryu Hyuuga, Hiashi and Hizashi's father and head of the elder council of the clan. He was officially retired but had to step up to the responsibility until his deceased son could be replaced.

"I'm forbidden from nominating myself, and even if I was I would deny it. It's far far too troublesome for me. I said all this to remind you all of what we truly need. Our village has suffered a lot lately, and our greatest concern right now should be the people of our village, not our own desires for power or thirst for vengeance. We need a hokage that will give our village it's spirit back, not turn us into a war machine."

"We are at war!" Koshiro stated.

"No, we were attacked. A war doesn't officially start until we retaliate. And right now we have bigger priorities than retaliation." Shikaku countered.

"And what exactly are these priorities Mr. Smart Guy?" Koshiro challenged.

"Well for starters there's repairing our city, tending to our injured, being on our guard in case another assault comes soon, and trying to calm down the Fire Daimyo." Shikaku listed.

"Yeah, let's not forget Daimyo-sama is not at all happy from what he heard." Inoichi added in. "We should consider ourselves lucky we at least convinced him the part about Yondaime-sama being brought back to life was a lie. But he's still offended that the supposedly strongest hidden village of all was brought to it's knees by a village he didn't even know existed until last month."

"We're still here and able to fight. That counts for something." Hiryu Hyuuga pointed out.

"All that shows is the enemy village has plans for us." Inoichi countered. "Maybe we can use that to show we're strong enough to withstand an invasion, but with all the rumors being spread it sounds more like we were simply spared the worst. Which, let's be honest, we were."

"Isn't there anything positive we can use to lift the people's spirits? That would help our progress." Shibi asked.

"I know one thing." Koshiro said.

"What's that?" Inoichi asked.

"I overheard something very interesting in the hospital the other day that should be of great value to us." Koshiro said before going to the door and opening it. "You can come in now."

In walked Sasuke, looking a little less antisocial then normal.

"Just what are you getting at you monkey?" Tsume asked.

"Simple. Sasuke, please show them."

The Uchiha looked at them all cautiously like he suspected they had ill intent for him, but he closed his eyes and when he opened them, everyone could see they were now red.

"Oh Kami-sama!"

"The Sharingan is back?"

"How is this possible?"

Sasuke deactivated his doujutsu. "I think the Oto nin gave it back to me."

"Gave it back? Why would they do that?" Inoichi asked.

"Forget that, how could they do that instead?" Tsume asked.

Sasuke shrugged. "I don't know. But it's a clear sign that Oto has complete control of our bloodlines and are not a threat to be taken lightly."

"When did you get your kekkei genkai back, and how?" Shikaku added.

"I'm told that in the Forest of Death when I was unconscious that those Oto genin did some kind of jutsu on my eyes and told my teammate something would happen to me around a month later. I didn't notice anything different about myself until last night when my eyes felt weird. I looked in the mirror and my sharingan came back. I double-checked with a medic to make sure it wasn't some kind of trick."

"We should check Kakashi too." Koshiro said.

"We should, but this is rather illogical." Shibi said. "Why would the enemy give him his doujutsu back? What do they stand to gain from it?"

"It is indeed unusual, but we can still take advantage of this." Koshiro replied.

"Take advantage of?" Sasuke repeated, not liking the sound of that.

"Oh we didn't mean it like that Sasuke, but you must realize that having the sharingan back is a great boon to our village."

"Yeah, I imagine it would be." Sasuke replied, sounding suspicious.

"Something wrong?" Unkai Kurama asked.

"Just wondering what this council has in mind for my eyes, especially since this very council told me that they had just been using me before I lost it." Sasuke said, narrowing his eyes at the clan heads.

"We never said that." Koshiro countered.

"I was there. I heard this council tell me that without my eyes I was nothing to them and I have proof that my grades in the academy were tampered with to make me be the Rookie of the Year when it was undeserved. The true Rookie of the Year was supposed to be Shino Aburame, but this council ordered teachers to make my grades higher since I couldn't surpass him in time for graduation on my own. I dare you to tell me you were doing that selflessly."

"It gave you the confidence you needed to stand up to your brother when you have to didn't it?" Koshiro responded.

Sasuke just sneered. "There's no way that's your motive. And even if it was, what concern is it of yours if I kill Itachi or not?"

"What if he comes back to kill more of us?"

"So I'm a shield to you?" Sasuke asked.

"No more so then any other ninja is." Koshiro answered.

Sasuke's expression did not change. "That's not exactly a no. That answer could easily be interpreted to mean every ninja in Konoha is meant to be a shield to you all."

"Well to a point every ninja is. When you became a ninja you agreed to defend Konoha and that includes the people in it. People like us."

For a moment Sasuke looked like he had tasted something sour, but he returned to normal. "Even so, what makes this council believe he'd come back and kill more? Does Itachi have a reason to target any of you?" A few got nervous at that question and he caught that right away. "Did anyone here actually interact with Itachi and keep this from me?"

"Only in ways that were required back when he was an Anbu." Shibi answered.

'Why do I get the feeling something is being kept from me?' Sasuke asked himself, suspicious of the wording since it didn't say anything about what was actually done those times. "Itachi is my concern, not yours."

"Fraid not kid. Itachi is a missing nin of Konoha. He's a concern to all of us." Tsume told him.

"Then why am I the only one who actually wants to see him dead?"

"You aren't. We want him gone too. That's why we placed him in the bingo book. You just never bothered to notice before. In your obsession with killing your brother, you ended up convincing yourself you're the only one who can and forgot we have hunter nin for this sort of thing." Inoichi pointed out.

"Maybe you're right, but why exactly am I here right now? Is it just to prove my doujutsu is active, or is there more?" Sasuke asked.

Koshiro smiled. "That was part of it, but I really brought this up because I think we should consider promoting you to chuunin."

There was a stunned silence in the room for a moment but before any of the other council members could say a word Sasuke did.

"No."

"No?" Koshiro repeated. "You're turning down a free promotion?"

"The real question is why are you offering it in the first place? I never made it to the finals and the daimyo and everyone here in Konoha knows it. Giving me a promotion will look very suspicious on your end."

"Koshiro Sarutobi why on earth would you believe giving him a promotion just like that would be a good idea?" Tsume all but yelled. "Don't you have any idea how insulting that is to the genin that actually made it to the finals?"

"We can say he got it as a reward for his contribution in the invasion." The late hokage's son defended.

"I did nothing in the invasion." Sasuke admitted. "I was home the entire time, and by the time I was convinced to go outside the battle was over and we were gathered in the village for that announcement."

"If you say otherwise we will too." Koshiro told him.

Shikaku narrowed his eyes. "Do not presume to speak for all of us. If anything, if Sasuke here saw his village was in danger and knowingly turned a blind eye to it then he deserves to be fired, not promoted."

"I agree." Hiryu added.

"Be reasonable. Morale in Konoha is at an all-time low. The people need something to lift their spirits up. If they were to hear that the last Uchiha fought valiantly in the invasion to protect his home from those monsters and regained his sharingan and became a chuunin despite being sabotaged in the exams, they would realize Konoha can and will recover from this minor setback."

"Minor?" Tsume repeated, offended. "Are you blind? Our hokage is dead, all three sannin have betrayed us, the Yondaime has deserted us, the enemy has three bijuu to use against us, and apparently ten years ago we treated the Yondaime's son worse than crap! How is this in any way a minor setback?"

"We're still alive aren't we?" He asked.

"By that logic anything short of genocide is a minor setback." Shibi argued.

"Why are you here again instead of your brother? He at least understands how we do our work. You've gotten too used to working in a lab to think like a ninja anymore." Inoichi asked.

"Asuma's too angry to be rational right now and he forfeited his right to have any say in these meetings when he fought against our father. So like it or not I'm the Sarutobi representative." Koshiro explained.

"But you are not the voice of the council. We need to select our new hokage before we decide who to promote to chuunin." Shikaku told him.

"This is at least quicker to accomplish is it not?" Koshiro argued.

"It's still futile as the hokage is the one who makes the promotions official." Tsume pointed out.

"And none of our genin won their final matches anyway. While it's true winning isn't mandatory, we still have to discuss their performance so promotions cannot just be given out." Hiryu added. "Let us focus on getting our godaime hokage chosen first."

"If that's everything can I go now?" Sasuke asked.

"Sure." Tsume told him.

"Thanks." He said before leaving the room and the bickering adults to their business.

* * *

Sasuke made it back to his apartment without any fuss, which he was grateful for. "Looks like she was right." He told himself once he was inside, then went into his bedroom and pulled out an envelop he hid under his mattress.

When Mikoto left his apartment during the invasion, she left behind something for him among the debris she used for a substitution. A letter with his name on it, which he spotted before he threw everything out. Curious, he opened it, and kept a hold of it knowing it was important for later.

Later apparently came now, for Sasuke pulled the letter out and read it again.

_Sasuke, under absolutely no circumstances must you show this to anyone. If you do show it to another person or even so much as let another person touch it a seal drawn in white ink will activate and turn this paper to dust before they recognize the first character on it. What is written here is for your eyes only, so keep it that way._

_I know you don't accept my reasons for what I did, but you don't know the entire story. Like with how things were done here in Konoha for your sake, you were unaware of what was going on and saw only what you wanted to see. But I don't want to use the entire paper telling you where you went wrong; instead I'm going to tell you something else._

_In time you are going to regain your sharingan. Don't ask how or why, just be glad you will. When you do, some people in Konoha are going to try treating you like they used to, like you were some kind of celebrity. They may even offer you a promotion to chuunin, which keep in mind is something they would not even consider if you did not get your sharingan back. My question to you is how will you act once they do? Be careful in your answer Son, for I'm only going to give you this one chance to show me what kind of person you've become._

_You might think this is unfair of me, but sadly Son not everyone will give you fair choices, not even your parents. Konoha will give you an offer, and I will give you another. It's up to you to decide what you want._

_My offer to you is this, come with me to Oto and learn what I have to teach you. Before you decide, keep in mind I have no intention whatsoever of helping you kill your brother. No mother should be expected to work at killing her son, even a criminal son. If you come to Oto, you must put this obsession of yours aside at least enough to find something else to live for too. Sooner or later Itachi is going to die somehow, with or without you being the cause, so you need to have something else to live for after that happens. Especially if you happen to die before Itachi does or someone beats you to killing him. Didn't think of that all these years did you?_

'No, I didn't.' Sasuke thought now, just like he did the first time he read that. 'I always assumed that no one and no thing could kill Itachi but me. Not even natural causes. I still don't like admitting it, but Itachi is mortal after all and can die, even if not by my hand. I just never considered that until Mom pointed it out. Some genius I am to ignore something so fundamental.'

_I'm sure you're wondering why I'm offering you this opportunity Son. The thing is I still want you in my life. I know I don't deserve that given the fact I stayed out of it of years but there was more going on than just what you want and what I want. But now we can be together, but this time you have to come to me. So I ask you Sasuke is that acceptable to you? Can you put aside your desire for blood long enough to see what else there is to enjoy in life, or is your need to prove yourself better than Itachi more important than your clans honor?_

That part confused Sasuke the first time he read it, because he was so certain killing Itachi was necessary for the clans honor. But Mikoto apparently disagreed and let him know it.

_Killing Itachi may be avenging our clan, but in your effort to redeem our clans honor Sasuke you've been destroying it. __When you became a ninja you took an oath to fight for the good of your village and your team, not only for your own ends and ego. Having a fancy name or heritage doesn't make you a better person than everyone around you and it certainly doesn't give you the right to treat them as less than human. If anything it means you have a responsibility to be more honorable so you set a good example. A clan is only honorable as long as its members are, and with you being the only Uchiha in Konoha, the Uchiha are only likable as long as you are. If you saw someone else acting like you used to, would you like them?_

'No, but then again they wouldn't be me.' Sasuke told him. 'But then again, that's proving her point.'

_In short my son, you will be given two options. Stay in Konoha and accept what they give you, or come with me and accept what I give you. Keep in mind both sides, yes even mine, have at least some selfish motive for what they offer you. In a months time I will approach you to find out your choice, and that will be your one and only time to choose. I'll see you then Son._

'So she'll be back in three more weeks.' Sasuke told himself. 'I see what she meant by Konoha's offer. Now that I have my sharingan back, some people here are going to pretend they never turned their back on me. I don't like the implication that I can only get benefits if I repay the favor someday, I mean, I'm the one chance this village has at getting the sharingan back. They shouldn't expect anything more of me than that, so why should I have to earn my keep in this village? I've already earned it by being their only hope for having the most power kekkei genkai in the world be here.'

Sasuke felt a rare pang of conscience and knew why, even though he didn't like admitting why. 'That's the kind of thinking Mom said made her hate me. But I don't understand. Why would she hate that? She's an Uchiha too, surely she knows as well as I do that we are the best and Kami-sama made the world specifically for us and that's just how it is. Why would she hate me for being right? Unless... it wasn't right?'

He closed his eyes for a moment, and in that moment he recalled one important thing he had overlooked for years. 'All that talk about Uchiha's being superior to everyone by nature, that came from the council and anbu and shopkeepers, but I don't remember any actual Uchiha ever saying that. My father did say it was our right to rule, but even he didn't talk like Kami-sama was in our shadow. So is it possible that all this time I've just been thinking what everyone else _wanted_ me to think? Whether it was true or not? Has Konoha been brainwashing me in a way?'

Sasuke sat down on his bed. "What do I decide to do? I've already seen what Konoha thinks of me. If I stay here I might be forced to kill my mother someday too, but if I leave I can't kill Itachi. How do I decide this in just three more weeks?"

* * *

"I'm positive this is what he meant." Neji said to himself as he went into his father's study, which used to belong to Hiashi before his suicide. Hizashi didn't go in there often as it reminded him a lot of his late brother, but there were times he put the room to use. Mostly when he didn't want to be disturbed.

To Neji though this room always would be his father's room, as he no longer had any memories of Hiashi. He had heard about his uncle but ultimately thought of him as a disgrace for his suicide. Such action was unfitting for such a noble clan, like they were above seppuku in any form. Neji knew Hiashi did it because he couldn't live with the grief of losing his wife and daughters, but Neji had always assumed that if the gods had wanted them to live they would be alive, and their death was a sign the gods no longer favored them. Why mourn those the gods themselves did not care for?

'Otou-sama's death was not an act of God but an act of man, thus it is okay to mourn for him. And I swear the ones will die by my hands even if I have to come back from the grave to make it happen.' Neji told himself as he looked around his father's study. The only reason he hadn't been here before was clan business and reconstructing Konoha got in the way, but now that he had some free time he was going to find out what his father had been trying to tell him.

Using his byakugan, Neji saw something hidden in the room. 'A wall safe?' Instead of a standard lock, it was a numerical lock. 'A combination, that's what he was telling me. He wants me to see what's in the safe.' Thanks to privacy seals all over the Hyuuga estate, you couldn't really see beyond the room you were in without a window, and apparently there were seals inside the safe so Neji couldn't see what was inside it.

Removing the wall scroll that was hiding the safe, Neji began to adjust the dial. 'One... four... three... nine.' He heard a click, and reached for the handle. Moving carefully, he succeeded in opening the safe and gazed inside.

What he saw was a manilla envelop with his name on it, on top of a black box the size on an average shoe box that had the Hyuuga emblem stamped on it.

Curious, Neji took both out and chose to open the envelop first. Inside were several sheets of paper with Hizashi's handwriting on it.

_Neji, if you're reading this then I am dead now. I'm just glad you were able to get the combination to this safe to see my final words to you. I don't know who or what killed me or why, but I wrote this for if it happens. Keep in mind most ninja parents leave these letters for their children if something goes wrong, like you may someday do for your own son._

_I imagine that you want nothing less than my killer's head on a platter. While I understand your desire, I do not condone it._

'What?' Neji thought. 'How can he not want me to avenge him?'

_I imagine that my words confuse you, but they should not. Think my son, have I ever been the type of person to insist on blood for blood or an eye for an eye? Before you say that's how ninja think or how the Hyuuga clan think, I repeat, have **I** ever portrayed that attitude before?_

Neji had to think it over, trying to remember any time his father had insisted that someone suffer. But he couldn't remember a time when Hizashi had called for anything worse than something humiliating rather than lethal.

_The fact is Neji I am not that kind of person. I believe in justice, not vengeance, and I do not want you to walk the path of vengeance. If you try to kill my killer now, or actually strive for that to happen, you are not honoring me but instead just being vengeful. Killing them because **you** want them dead, not because **I** want them dead. If you must kill them, do it because it **has** to be done, not because you **want** it to be done._

'Otou-sama, that makes no sense. They have to die. They_ deserve _to die.'

_If my words are not enough to convince you Son, then maybe your own words will. If I am dead at someone else's hands, then obviously the gods favored them more than me. Maybe it was just my time and they were the instrument of the gods. If you seek them out, you are the instrument of your anger and pride, not the gods. I do not want that for you my son. You are to be head of the Hyuuga someday, and our clan will never improve if it is led by people who put their desires above all else._

_I believe you have the power to unite the clan, to bring it to the glory it always wanted but never could reach because we fought among ourselves. I believe you can do more for the clan than I was able to. If you want to honor me and make me proud, be that Neji. Be the leader the Hyuuga need. _

Neji closed his eyes and set the paper down. 'Okay, Otou-san wants me to take his place, not obsess over his death. Even though I still feel those Oto nin and that girl with our eyes deserves to die for it, I will not insult Otou-sama by ignoring his last wish. Oto says they invaded us because we refused to do something we were asked to do; I will not prove them right. I will kill them, but I will trust the gods to provide me the opportunity rather than go out and make the opportunity.'

With that in his mind Neji decided to unseal the box and looked inside. The contents surprised him, but it made him smile. 'Thank you Otou-sama. You gave me a means to avenge you when I do get that opportunity.'


	75. Union (Lemon)

_A second installment of my Best Author Poll is now active with a somewhat different list than before._

_Lemon in this chapter. You have been warned._

Ch. 75 Union

"You ready for this?" Isaribi asked her teammate.

"I've been ready for this since I came to Oto." Hinata replied.

"Can you even remember your life before then?" Isaribi asked skeptically.

Hinata shrugged. "Barely, not even to bother remembering. Remember when that guy tried to crush me with news about my father's death? I wasn't being cruel, I honestly don't remember anything abut him other than I didn't feel comfortable around him. And I was three; what three year old can't feel comfortable around her own father?"

Isaribi shrugged in return. "I'm not judging you. At this point I can't even remember my own parents anymore."

That surprised Hinata. "You know, now that you've mentioned it I don't remember you ever once saying a word about your parents."

"What's there to say? My life before you guys found me is a complete blank. I was three too so that's not unreasonable. I don't remember anything about my mother or father. For all I know they're dead."

"And if they aren't?" Hinata questioned.

Isaribi shrugged nonchalantly. "Would it really make much of a difference if they were still alive?"

"It did to Naru-kun." Hinata pointed out.

"He was happy to see his mother still alive and his father brought back to life, he didn't go out and look for them or pine for them to come back to him. In my case, the only ways I can find out about my parents are sheer chance or actually looking for a trail of clues. And I don't have the slightest idea where to start looking. I decided long ago that if I spend the rest of my life not knowing who my parents are, I can live with that."

"You sure?"

Isaribi nodded. "Yes, because once I marry Naruto-kun too I'll have the kind of family I've always wanted. But enough about me, this is your day Hinata."

The white-eyed girl nodded and smiled warmly. "Yeah. I'm surprised it's happening so soon, but I'm not going to complain."

"You aren't getting cold feet are you?"

Hinata shook her head. "Not at all. I've wanted this too long to chicken out now."

"Too bad some of us have to wait a little bit longer." Isaribi commented, looking at her left hand and the pearl ring she had on it, happily remembering when she had gotten it.

-Flashback-

Isaribi was going for her ritualistic early morning swim in the pool of the Otokage Tower. As usual she was going to swim in her normal clothes as opposed to a swimsuit. Since she knew a minor jutsu that allowed her to dry her clothes in moments it didn't really matter to her what she swam in. Also she said as a ninja she wouldn't have the luxury of switching into a swimsuit on the job so moving in water wearing her normal outfit was part of her training.

When she started she was the only one in the room, but when she came up for air the first time she saw Naruto had entered wearing his orange swimsuit. This was nothing new, since he went swimming with her all the time. "Hi Naruto-kun." She greeted with a smile.

"Hi Isaribi-chan. Nice to see you aren't skinny-dipping as I feared."

"Why? Don't you like my body?"

"It's nice, but what if someone got here before I did?"

The purple-haired girl got to the edge of the pool, crossing her arms as she placed them on the edge while resting her chin on them. "I'm a kunoichi Naruo-kun. I can defend myself, especially when I'm in the water. But I am happy you worry for me like that."

"What kind of guy would I be if I didn't worry for my girls?" He asked, sitting on the edge beside her placing his feet in the water.

"An overprotective guy if you worry too much." Isaribi answered. "Come on in, the water's fine."

"Something I wanted to do first." He told her, confusing her. "Isaribi-chan, have you changed your mind at all since the time we discussed... us?"

It took her a few seconds to grasp what exactly he was asking, but once she did she shook her head. "No, my opinion's still the same. I care deeply for you Naruto-kun and want to be with you for the rest of my life. Why?"

Naruto gave her a reassuring smile, the kind that made her feel like all was right with the world even if only for a moment. "I'm glad to hear that, because I've got something for you." Isaribi tilted her head curiously while he reached into his pocket and pulled something out. The second she saw what it was Isaribi was so surprised she almost forgot to keep herself afloat.

'Is that what I think it is?'

Naruto held out a silver ring with a pearl on it. "Isaribi-chan, will you marry me?"

The purple-haired girl jumped out of the water like a flying fish to engulf the whiskered blonde in a hug, knocking him into the water and by default going in with him. Heedless of the water she kissed him with reckless abandon, stopping only when he struggled to get some air.

"Sorry Naruto-kun, I got a little carried away." She apologized, hoping she hadn't ruined the moment.

"Next time I surprise you, I'm doing it away from water." He joked, making her chuckle with him and feel reassured again. "Uh oh, I dropped the ring."

Isaribi dove under and looked for the ring, seeing it at the bottom of the pool and being pulled towards the suction of the filter. Racing she grabbed it before the filter did and emerged. "Got it. Is that a real pearl?"

He nodded. "Yep. I thought it suited you because people have to dive to get them, and you love being in the water. What better gem then one that came from underwater?"

Isaribi smiled and placed the ring on her left ringer finger. "I love it, but not as much as I love you Naruto-kun." She said before kissing him, this time being careful not to potentially drown him.

-End Flashback-

"You'll get your turn soon. Let me have today." Hinata told her teammate.

"And tomorrow. Don't forget about tomorrow." The swimming enthusiast added.

Hinata smiled and nodded. "How much longer?"

"I'll go ask someone." Isaribi then left the room.

In her time alone Hinata couldn't help but look at herself in the mirror, and smiled a bit, allowing herself a brief moment to be vain. Her reflection showed herself wearing a white dress without shoulders or arms but she did have white gloves on that went up to her elbows and a little past them, a thin mesh covering for everything between her neck and top of her dress at the bosom, and black shoes sticking out of the base of the dress. A white obi was wrapped around her waist to pinch the dress tighter but not make it uncomfortable so her figure wasn't truly hidden by her outfit.

'I'm still surprised they make wedding dresses for girls my age.' She thought to herself. 'I'm just glad they do.'

There was a knock at the door. "Come in."

The door opened and Hitomi walked in. She smiled warmly at her daughter. "My, you look lovely Hinata."

"Thank you Okaa-san."

"You sure grew up fast. I can still remember the first time you kicked me when you were in my womb like it was yesterday. And here you are today, about to get married." The elder byakugan-bearer said wistfully.

Hinata blushed but continued to admire her ceremonial white kimono, checking to ensure nothing was out of place and everything that was supposed to be covered was. "I'm surprised too. I thought I'd have to wait until I was sixteen at least to become Naru-kun's wife, but I'm not complaining about having it today."

"Are you truly not bothered by having it happen so soon? Considering _why_ it has to happen?" Hitomi asked her daughter.

Hinata nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay. I know it's a little rushed for necessity but Naru-kun and the others were very considerate with this. Besides, if we don't do it now Fuu-chan will be in danger of deportation. I'm not going to be selfish and leave her to suffer all so I can have things done my way. I almost ruined things that way, I'm not doing that again."

Hitomi smiled. "That's very mature and noble of you Hinata. Though I admit part of me is glad you at least have to postpone the honeymoon for a week."

"It's just practical. Why go on a vacation for just one or two days? Next week will be more opportune. Why? Don't like the idea of me being deflowered?" Hinata teased.

Hitomi blushed too. "I highly doubt any mother anywhere likes to think about her child having sex, especially their thirteen year old. And any mother that would should be in the civilian equivalent of a bingo book. Just promise me you will use birth control."

"But remember the CRA requires me to get pregnant within a year. If I'm not then Naru-kun will be charged with taking advantage of the polygamy law and have all marriages legally annulled." Hinata stated, citing an addendum of the CRA law. The law did in fact legalize polygamy, but it only allowed it for reproductive purposes. If it appeared the person using it wasn't trying to reproduce, in a legal sense they were breaking the law and punished accordingly.

"Just be careful. A thirteen year old body isn't exactly ready for pregnancy and birth even if it can survive it." Hitomi warned.

"Trust me Okaa-san, I'll be careful." Hinata reassured. "So how soon until it's time?"

"We're supposed to start at noon remember? It's an hour away."

"Oh, guess I lost track of time. I wonder how Naru-kun is doing." Hinata thought out loud.

* * *

Naruto, dressed in a ceremonial black men's kimono, lacking any orange at the request of _everybody_, was being groomed by his mother and godmother while his father and godfather sort of stayed back, not wanting to get in the women's way at the moment.

"Dammit, can't this hair stay down for just one minute?" Kushina complained when she combed Naruto's hair, trying to get it to stay down with no success.

"If it's anything like mine you know it can't." Minato commented.

"Ditto." Jiraiya added.

"So Naruto, what name will you and your new wife be taking tonight?" Tsunade asked, straightening out any imperfections she could find on his kimono, be it his obi uneven or a ruffled cress on his leg.

"For now we'll be using Uzumaki. Hina-chan tells me she always imagined herself as Mrs. Uzumaki when we got married so she wants us to at least start that way. We might change it to Namikaze once we're certain Konoha can't come after us."

"Yeah, going around calling yourself Namikaze is bound to alert Konoha and even Kumo. I know they can't find this village yet, but for now it's best if it stays that way." Kushina commented.

"You know it's not too late for a bachelor party." Jiraiya joked, well prepared for the dirty look Tsunade gave him.

"For the last time Ero-jiisan I don't need one. I'm getting nine wives so why would I need to see strippers?" Naruto told the toad sage.

"Because you're a guy?" Jiraiya offered.

"Not the same kind of guy you are." Naruto claimed.

"Where did I go wrong?" Jiraiya mock-complained with a fake sad shake of his head.

"I'm just glad I didn't miss this, my son's wedding." Minato added, changing the subject.

"Same here." Kushina added. "And with nine girls at least one of them has to be like me."

"Huh?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Oh that, when we were sealing Kyuubi in you part of my words to you were to find a girl like your mother to make you happy." Kushina told him then threw down the comb. "That's it, I give up. Your hair is impossible."

"Hina-chan likes it the way it is anyway so she won't care." Naruto reassured. "Besides, I don't want to feel like I'm marrying a younger version of you."

"Oh no, I didn't mean find a girl just like me. By like me, I meant a girl that can love you even if she knows you're not perfect. A girl who when she says she loves you she means it, not just trying to get you to do something."

"Yeah that's Hina-chan."

"What about the others?" Tsunade asked.

"I don't doubt any of them, but since I'm marrying Hina-chan today I'm trying to keep my mind on her. It wouldn't be fair to her if I thought of other women on her wedding day." The whiskered blonde stated.

"Good boy." Kushina complimented.

"I'm not a dog Okaa-san." Naruto whined.

"Anything else needed before the ceremony starts?" Tsunade asked.

"I think appearance-wise he's fine, all he needs now is a little man-to-man time with his father to settle any frayed nerves he may have." Jiraiya said.

"Frayed nerves?" Naruto asked.

"I'll handle that." Minato offered.

Everyone nodded, and with a kiss on the cheek from Kushina everyone but Minato left the room. The former Yondaime Hokage approached his son and sat down before him, hoping the level would make him look less intimidating as he spoke so his words would have a more positive impact.

"I bet you're a bit nervous Son." He started.

Naruto shrugged. "I'm alright. I mean, after fighting in Konoha this should be easy."

"Trust me son, this isn't easy. A fight's one thing, it's something you were prepared to do for years, but a wedding and the life that comes with it is completely different." Minato countered.

"Are you saying I shouldn't do this?" Naruto asked.

Minato shook his head. "No, not at all. I'm not trying to discourage you. I'm just trying to get you to see you can't go into this the same as you would a battle. Naruto, it's natural to be a little nervous. I myself was when it was my wedding, but it was all worth it. Surely some part of you is nervous about what this all entails. The more you pretend otherwise, the worst it's going to hit you when you have to go thru with it."

Naruto sighed. "I guess I'm worried about how this changes things. I mean, Hina-chan and I got along for years just fine, then the council shoves this thing on us both and it almost tears up apart. I know she's trying now to be more supportive but what if she falls back into that old pattern? I'll lose my oldest friend and all the girls might end up too busy fighting over me for any of us to remain friends anymore."

"Well no one ever said marriage was easy, but it's definitely worth it. You know my father once told me that marriage was a lot like ninja training, everyone knows the risks involved but that doesn't stop people from getting it." Minato replied with a light chuckle. "I'm not going to lie and say it will never be tough, that you will never have fights or nothing can go wrong. Marriage isn't a fairy tale. All you can do is try to make your partner happy and live a life you're proud of. If you can do that, then no matter how rough times may get you'll live a happy life."

"What was your roughest time with Okaa-san?" Naruto asked.

"When we were married?" Minato asked, then tried to recall that memory. "I'd say... the time in her pregnancy she was experiencing cravings. One day I must have thought out loud a little too loud and she heard me. I said I wondered if she was just using pregnancy cravings as an excuse to get ramen daily. Let's just say I had to make my own dinner that night and hold everything she bought on one especially expensive shopping trip without using clones. Oh my back was killing me that day. But luckily we never went to bed angry."

Naruto snickered a little imaging his father whipped like that, even though he knew he might be in the same situation in the future. "Hearing you go thru this makes me think this won't be so bad. And besides, at least you'll both be there to help out when the kids come."

"I hope you'd do the same." Minato commented with a sly smile.

Naruto tilted his head in confusion. "What?"

"Oh nothing, forget that. Come on, let's get out there. The ceremony's about to start." Minato said as he got up.

Still confused by his father's words, Naruto followed Minato and went where he had been instructed to stand. The wedding was officially about to start.

* * *

'That was a nice ceremony.' Fuu thought as she laid in her bed hours later that night. The wedding and reception had ended about an hour ago. For the past hour Fuu had hung out with her teammates saying what they'd do differently for their own weddings when they happened, and now she came home to her apartment. 'Naruto-kun looked so charming in that outfit, and Hinata... she was okay I guess. But I'm going to look much hotter than her when it's my turn in two days.'

The wedding had been simple but sweet, with vows, sharing sake, and sealing the union with a kiss. Hinata threw the bouquet as usual and Fuu cheated a bit to catch it, meaning she used Shichibi's chakra to grow some wings to fly and grab it. It was a bit childish she admitted it, but in all fairness she _was_ the next in line and wanted to reinforce that.

'Now I understand how Hinata felt months ago with letting us know our places. Guess when push comes to shove I'm similar.' Fuu thought. 'I wonder if Naruto-kun and Hinata are already consummating the union or not. Well if she isn't, doesn't mean I can't when it's my wedding day. No reason I should have to remain a virgin once I'm wed.'

A crackle in the air cut off her train of thought and made the green-haired jinchuuriki alert. 'Someone's trying to break in. Who'd be stupid enough to try? Time to be a fly on the wall and find out.' With that she shrank to insect size and went to the central room of her apartment clinging to the walls with her chakra. Unless someone looked close at her in the dark, they'd assume she literally was a fly on the wall.

The window in that room was then shattered, since it was sealed to ensure it couldn't be opened from the outside lest the one trying that feel like they touched a bug zapper. Hence the crackle she heard earlier. With the window broken someone jumped in, followed by an accomplish. With the lights out it was difficult to identify them, but Fuu was positive they weren't Oto ninja. Fortunately she had another trap set up for if someone got this far in.

The intruders screamed in pain and fell on the floor, realizing too late that at night Fuu covered the floor of her front room with caltrops. Enough that it felt like they had basically jumped onto a pile of shattered glass. Fuu laughed at their expense. 'Good thing I went for the more expensive shoe-piercing caltrops. Not too many ninja work barefoot.'

"You sure it's here?" The first intruder asked the second, voice confirming it was a man as he struggled back to his feet, picking the spiked weapons out of his soles and other parts of his body that landed on the floor. The ones in his ass hurt the most.

"For the last time yes, now shut up. Don't let it know we're here." The second replied, also a man.

"Unless it sleeps like the dead I'm sure it heard us." The first stated.

'Oh I heard you jerks, and if you're careless in my home _you'll_ be the ones sleeping like the dead.' Fuu said to herself, wondering if she should stay and watch or go alert the Altos. 'Not every day I get to see my traps in use, so let's enjoy the show for a bit longer.'

* * *

While Fuu was busy, Naruto and Hinata were enjoying themselves in a hotel room in a town in Land of Rice away from Oto. This wasn't their true honeymoon, but their parents felt they deserved to spend their wedding night in a place with privacy. The true honeymoon would come next week, so for now they had tonight and tomorrow. The day after tomorrow Naruto would be marrying Fuu before promotions were announced, and he would have a similar night alone with her as well.

The room wasn't fancy, but Hinata was too giddy to care, especially with Naruto carrying her over the threshold like a good new husband. 'My husband.' She thought with glee, sneaking a peek at the wedding ring accompanying her engagement ring.

Naruto gently set her on the bed, and before he could let her go she pulled him into a kiss, which he didn't really want to resist anyway. "I take it you're happy?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" She asked.

"I was a little worried that everything was a bit rushed and today wouldn't be as good as you dreamed it would be." He told her.

Hinata kept on smiling and twirled some of his hair with her finger. "I was with you at the altar, no one objected to us being together, and now I can call myself Hinata Uzumaki. That's what I dreamed about." She then started to get up. "Now if you'll excuse me, there's something I need to do in private for a moment. Just hold tight and get comfy." She then walked into the bathroom taking a scroll with her that Naruto clearly saw.

"I wonder what she has in there." Naruto asked himself as he made himself comfortable on the bed. While he laid down he removed his jacket and socks, leaving himself in a black shirt and dark blue pants. After the reception he saw no reason to get being dressed in fancy clothes.

After a moment the bathroom door opened and Hinata strolled out, leaning against the frame. "How's this look, Naru-kun?" She was wearing a nightie that was orange but see-thru, allowing him to see the dark royal blue lace panties she had on, and if he wasn't mistaken she had no bra on.

At that sight half of Naruto's blood was trying to come out his nose while the other half was trying to support his erection.

"Anko-sensei got me this, though she worried it might be too much for you." Hinata said as she crawled onto the bed and held herself above her new spouse on her hands and knees. If it weren't for the fact he was under her it would look like she was ready for doggy style sex.

"It's very... very... see-thru." Naruto managed to make himself say.

Hinata giggled and set her bottom down on his thighs. "After seeing me bare in the pool at Konoha you can get embarrassed by this?"

"If it's this unexpected then yes." He stated. "Also I sort of thought you might not want to do this tonight."

"Why would I do that? No way I'm going to start off my married life by blue-balling my husband." The white-eyed girl reassured before she slowly started to take her nightie off. "Are you not in the mood Naru-kun?"

"If I wasn't I'd have to kick my own ass then send myself to a hospital for a CAT Scan." The whiskered blonde told her as he began to tug at her panties slightly. She wiggled her hips a little to encourage him, then he pulled the garment down to her knees, forcing her to adjust her legs for it to come completely off her.

"Your turn for clothes to come off Naru-kun." Hinata told him, herself completely naked now and not embarrassed to be that way for him. He sat up, stood off the bed, and tried to take his clothes off in a way that was meant to be sexy for her. To be honest it just looked like someone undressing normally yet slowly with a poor copy of a stripper's smile on their face, but Hinata didn't complain.

He stopped at his boxers. "I took off your underwear, so how about you take off mine?"

Hinata grinned and complied, reaching out and removing his undergarment from him. Thanks to the skinny-dipping incident and her byakugan this wasn't her first time seeing him bare, but this time felt different. It felt natural, instead of like she was doing something she wasn't supposed to do.

"The pool must have been cold that time. You're bigger now then you were then." She told him as she pulled him onto the bed then positioned herself so her face was above his hips.

"Hina-chan?" He asked, confused on why she'd want such a close look.

"Let me do something for you I wanted to save especially for tonight. Just relax." She reassured before carefully touching his manhood, stroking it a little to get it more erect. When she was satisfied she surprised him by taking him in her mouth.

"Hina-chan?" Naruto gasped, not expecting his first choice of wife to do something like this. Not that he hated it, but it was unexpected.

"Did it hurt?" Hinata asked, taking her mouth off him.

"Uhh... no. I was just surprised."

"It's okay, I'm not going to bite you or anything." She joked.

"I sure hope not. I really need that." He joked too.

Hinata smiled then once again wrapped her lips sensually around his erect organ. With her mouth full she started bobbing her head. Rather than try and suck him off she preferred to merely massage his penis with her lips and tongue and let him release naturally. She could already taste his pre-cum but she didn't really have a way to describe the flavor. 'Salty, but strangely better than I anticipated.'

"Your mouth feels great Hina-chan." Naruto told her, making her blush and move faster. Getting an idea Naruto silently created one shadow clone and had it sneak behind her. The clone knelt down and started licking her slit between her legs.

The unexpected sensation made Hinata stop what she was doing and look behind herself. "Naru-kun?"

"No reason I should be the only one pleasured right now, but I couldn't exactly reach you from this angle." The original answered.

"Then let's change that." Hinata offered before moving herself into a proper 69 position.

"Hey what am I? Chopped liver?" The clone asked now that it was no longer needed. Naruto dispelled it rather then answer, and after putting up a silencing barrier jutsu he began to please his wife with his mouth while she returned to doing the same. Like Hinata, Naruto couldn't really describe what he was tasting, but he at least didn't find it terrible. 'I heard Ero-jiisan once compare this stuff to honey. Doesn't taste like honey to me, but it feels sort of like a watered down version of it so maybe he wasn't completely wrong.'

Thanks to Hinata's actions Naruto got closer to the brink so he inadvertently increased the pace of his tongue going up and down and around her sacred opening. This in turn made Hinata close to climaxing and she moved faster too, up and down his manhood. Now it was like a race to see who would come first.

The winner of that race turned out to be Naruto as he released his cum into Hinata's mouth. Hinata attempted to swallow it all, but some of it did leak out of her mouth before she could. Naruto had to pause his efforts to pleasure her to catch his breath.

"Damn Hina-chan, where'd you learn to do that?" He asked once he stopped panting.

"Anko-sensei made me and Isaribi practice on carrots before the chuunin exams." She answered. "I must say the comparison was all wrong. Carrots taste completely different and aren't warm at all. Plus they don't move or come with a cream filling."

"Remind me to thank Nee-chan when we get back." Naruto said. He was about to finish his job on Hinata's genitals, but she moved to sit atop him instead.

"Enough mouth-play, I want the real thing now Naru-kun. I want you to make me a real woman. I want to show you how much I love you." She insisted. To her surprise and joy he moved her to be under him for once on the bed.

"One question first, are you using birth control?" Naruto asked, getting his dick in position and getting it coated in Hinata's juices to make penetration smoother for her.

"I thought about it, and I think it's best we don't use that for now. I know we don't _have_ to get pregnant right away, but we do need to show we're making an effort at it. So for now let's enjoy ourselves and let it happen naturally."

"In that case..." Naruto said just before activating his Neo-Byakugan. "Better ensure if it does happen the baby gets a bloodline."

Hinata had always liked this kekkei genkai of his, it was like they had a symbolic connection between them all this time, and was the main reason they trained together a lot as kids and got to be as close as they were now. Not only that, his byakugan was much warmer than those of the Hyuuga in Konoha, and different than the ones her mother and sister had in a way she couldn't really put into words.

"Take me Naru-kun. I'll go insane if you hold out any longer." She lovingly pleaded.

"As you wish." Naruto stated, then followed thru with his claim and thrust into her, ripping her virgin barrier and getting as deep as he could all in one move.

Hinata screamed in pain but locked her legs around him to prevent her lover from withdrawing. The pain felt much like being hit with the juuken or surudoken, only more localized then spread out over the body. No stranger to being affected by either fighting style, Hinata recovered from the pain quite quickly.

"You can move now Naru-kun." She whispered.

Naruto obeyed and began pounding his new bride. With this being his first time he was very enthusiastic about this, but he wasn't going to rush it. 'Hina-chan's not going to disappear any second now so I shouldn't be in a hurry to finish this. Besides she needs to orgasm too.'

Hinata was moaning happily, moving her hips to coordinate with his thrusts. She even tried angling her hips to make him strike her insides in different ways, making her feel a variety of sensations.

"How does it feel Hina-chan?" Naruto asked as he moved his hands to her breasts and gently held them and rubbed them to turn her on more. He knew it was working because she tightened around him and got wetter.

"It's amazing Naru-kun." Hinata replied, gasping as she did. "Ride me harder. Ride me so much you should be using a saddle in order to do it."

"Now's the perfect time to show you something your mom taught me." Naruto said before activating his Neo-Byakugan. "You see, there are some pressure points that are a bit harder to hit then others. One such point is the famous G-spot, and with the right use of the byakugan that can be hit perfectly."

"What are you-OH!" Hinata asked then stopped when she got her answer. Naruto was using the surudoken with his dick to hit her G-spot, making her have an intense orgasm right then and there. "NARUTO!"

The aforementioned boy never stopped thrusting into her despite her irongrip tightness on him, giving her a second orgasm right after the first one ended thanks to his G-spot poker. He stopped the surudoken then, lest Hinata get a heart attack from nonstop consecutive orgasms. 'Not the worst way to die, but I don't want to become a widower yet.' He thought.

Hinata collapsed panting and still felt him in her moving back and forth, slower then before for her sake. She was worn out, but she wanted him to have his pleasure before he stopped. "Naru-kun, kiss me." She asked, and he complied. When he kissed her, she held him to her, forcing him to work at a sedate pace so she could recover for one more climax.

They broke the kiss when Hinata could handle more and Naruto was getting closer to his release. He pounded faster, harder, making Hinata quiver with pleasure despite her weariness. For further effect Naruto used his surudoken with his hands this time to hit some of her more sensual pressure points to rejuvenate her more for this one last orgasm.

The effect was like some drug and Hinata completely forgot she had ever been tired. If anything now she felt like the other orgasms had just been foreplay and now the real thing was coming. "Naru-kun! Naru-kun! This is incredible! Make me cum! Cum inside me! Impregnate me! I want your child!" She wasn't even aware she had said that until after she finished, and while it made her blush she knew deep down she wasn't just caught up in the moment. Part of her really did want to get knocked up tonight despite her age. With Tsunade and some of the best trained medics in the Elemental Nations she wasn't at much risk for complications anyway.

Naruto was at his limit and pushed himself in as far as he could get inside her. "HINATA!" He shouted as he filled her insides, which were still extra-sensitive thanks to his pressure point hitting allowing her to cum one more time.

Their act finished, Naruto laid down on the bed beside his wife, still connected to her. 'Wow, I'm surprised sex makes a man feel so drained afterwards. Even with my stamina I need a few moments before I can go again.'

"Not to mention your mate might need a few hours. I'm impressed kit." Kyuubi commented.

Naruto turned completely red. 'You were watching?'

"I was curious. I mean, all my time in Mito and Kushina I was forced to see how mating between humans happened from the vixen's perspective. For once I wanted to see how it was from the male's." The bijuu confessed.

'Please don't do that again.' Naruto requested.

"How exactly are you going to stop me Kit?" Kyuubi teased.

"Mmm... Naru-kun, thank you. I love you." Hinata peacefully cuddled in his arms, feeling more content and at peace then she ever had before in her life.

"I love you too." He told her.

"How were you so good for your first time?" Hinata inquired.

"I could ask you the same thing." He told her, mind off the fox inside him.

Both giggled a little then relaxed in each other's arms and in the afterglow of their lovemaking. They were so relaxed Naruto actually forgot he still had his Neo-Byakugan.

* * *

Back in Oto Fuu was laughing so hard she was in danger of wetting herself. The intruders in her home seemed to be falling for every one of her traps. One got shot in the testicles with a staple gun behind the bedroom door, the other got his hair burned off by a blowtorch in the bathroom, and both of them fell thru a trap door into the empty apartment below hers where there were even more traps like oil on the floor.

'And these guys thought they could catch _me_?' The green-haired girl asked herself, more than just amused. A crash sound could be heard along with the words 'Ah my nose!' making her laugh more. 'Oh I can't believe that one worked. Did he really think the door to get out wasn't booby-trapped too? It's almost embarrassing.'

'Alright, they're probably not going to leave for a little while. I should go alert someone now.' Fuu thought when she could stop laughing. Moving thru the open window she went outside and returned to normal size when she jumped to the ground.

Once she was full size she was caught by surprise by three ropes made of water springing at her and wrapping around her tightly. Fuu struggled to get loose but the liquid bindings were as strong as chains.

"Good work Hisame, Murasame, Kirisame. I'm surprised the target was this easy to capture. Oto must be a complete failure as a ninja village then to produce such a feeble shinobi." A man said, stepping out of the shadows. He was an older man with wild spiked dull brown hair held under a dull tan bandanna and wearing a dark grey outfit one Fuu quickly recognized.

"You're from Taki, aren't you?" She hissed.

"Originally, but now I work for myself. Taki wouldn't let me have their precious Hero's Water, but if I offer them you I'm sure they'd be willing to trade, lest I use you against them." The man said.

Fuu didn't know whether to scoff or groan. "As much as I dislike Taki myself, I'm not letting you use me as a tool or bargaining chip."

"It's not like you have a choice here Shichibi."

"Oh, I don't?" Fuu asked before shrinking small enough to be unseen, thus escaping the water restraints.

"Where did she go?" The group asked, looking around for her.

Fuu reappeared on her roof, flaring her chakra to alert the village security, enough to give her a zero-tailed biju cloak. "Let's see how you feel when this bug steps on you."


	76. Akatsuki

Ch. 76 Akatsuki

"You didn't really think we came unprepared for your demonic chakra did you?" One of the enemy ninja asked Fuu.

"Oh I'm not stupid, but you don't know what all I can do." Fuu taunted. "And now your position has been given away."

The assaulting ninja grimaced at that, realizing her chakra was meant to be a beckon for back-up more than anything. So much of their plan had been based on catching her alone and off-guard. They could handle her not being one or the other, but not both. Not on guard and with support.

'Our only hope is to act fast.' The leader of the group, a man named Suien, thought. "Everyone, suppress her now!"

"Oh no you don't." Fuu said before she took a deep breath. "Ninja Art Ash From a Solarflare Dust Jutsu." She exhaled an arc of yellow powder that quickly ignited the oxygen in the area and reflected the light from the ignition at the same time to create what looked and felt like a solar flare.

Instead of hitting the ninja, it hit the building behind them, but they were blinded by the jutsu and unable to see that. The building's wall cracked and fell over, burying them in rubble before they knew what was coming.

"That was very disappointing." Fuu told herself. "They went down that easily and yet they thought they could restrain me? Dumbasses."

The Altos appeared beside her. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, just four idiots trying to capture me. And there should be at least two in the lower apartment that need to be taken too. I'll go get those ones if you want to dig these four out." Fuu replied.

* * *

Morning came and Naruto was the first to wake up. Hinata did not want to let go of him, and if he didn't know better he'd swear she was using chakra to reinforce her hold on him.

'Well there's no real reason I have to get up right now.' He told himself, relaxing in his wife's embrace. Then there was a knock at the door. 'Except maybe that.' He mentally groaned.

Despite his desire to stay in bed, Naruto decided to get this over with. A quick use of Ghost Body allowed him to escape Hinata's hold and he went to the door, keeping the bloodline active since he was at the moment too lazy to turn it off. "Yeah?" He asked when he opened the door.

Before him were two men, both wearing black robes with red clouds decorating them. Aside from that they looked nothing alike. One looked normal with black hair, but the other had a blue face and blue hair. Both wore hitai-ates that had slashes across their symbols, one wore the symbol of Konoha and the other bore the symbol of Kiri.

"Naruto Uzumaki?" The black-haired man asked.

"Sorry, you have the wrong room." Naruto said before closing the door. 'Whoever they are, they can only be bad news. How do I keep them from getting Hina-chan involved?'

Two seconds later the door to the room was broken and the two ninja went inside. They saw it was empty, the only signs that anyone had been in there were some ruffled blankets and tossed clothes.

"Damn kid sure is fast Itachi."

"Maybe not Kisame. I can still hear breathing."

Holding their own breaths, the two listened closer. This time Kisame heard it too, noting it was very steady, as if someone was simply asleep. Itachi activated his sharingan, and on the bed he saw a blur that hadn't been there before. A dull blue blur, like chakra but out of focus.

"Nice try making yourself invisible Naruto, but no genjutsu can overpower the sharingan." Itachi stated.

Naruto came back into visibility, seated on the empty bed. "Who said I used a genjutsu? And just because you haven't seen a genjutsu that can overpower your eyes doesn't mean such a genjutsu doesn't exist. Or ever will even if not in your life time."

"True, but you are still coming with us."

"Can I at least ask where you intend on taking me?" Naruto asked.

"You can, but we're not telling." Kisame said.

"Then I guess I won't tell you where I'm going." Naruto said before getting off the bed and running to the wall, running right thru it much to their surprise.

"Did he just-?" Kisame asked.

"No time, capture him." Itachi said, and the two missing nin followed the now white-haired boy.

Neither one of them noticed that the breathing they heard had really come from Hinata, who was invisible thanks to a jutsu Naruto could use only in Ghost Body. Itachi never noticed her because Naruto's chakra signature blocked her own when he sat on the bed. And as long as Naruto didn't return to the hotel or she stayed asleep, they would never know she had been there in the first place.

* * *

Invisible, Naruto hid just outside the hotel breathing as quietly as possible. 'This invisibility won't work for long since one of those guys has a doujutsu. But I don't dare switch kekkei genkais now and leave myself vulnerable for nine seconds. On the other hand, I have maybe six minutes at the most left with Ghost Body. I have to get rid of them or hide well enough to switch to something more effective than my scare tactic bloodline. If one of them has a sharingan, that will make things tough.'

Right then something in Naruto's mind clicked. 'Wait, Sharingan? Could that have been-?'

He was cut off by Itachi appearing suddenly in front of him. "Found you. Now come with us." He began to raise his hand as if to poke Naruto in the eyes. Naruto avoided him by moving thru the wall behind him, saving him from Itachi's attempted genjutsu. "Interesting. He has powers we were not informed about. This will complicate things."

"Where is he?" Kisame asked, appearing beside his partner.

"He went back inside, going right thru the wall might I add."

Kisame raised an eyebrow. "Is that even possible?"

"I'm just telling you what I saw."

* * *

In one of the rooms designed to hold Oto's prisoners two men were seated. To be more precise, they were tied up to their chairs. In front of them was a masked woman with long brown hair and a white mask covering her entire face.

"Hello gentlemen. I am Shi, the head of this village's T&I department, meaning I'm the best at cracking your heads open and getting the secrets you don't want me to know."

"Ooh, I'm so scared." One of the men sarcastically taunted.

"Not yet, but you will be." Shi told him, then grabbed two spikes, the kind used when building railroads, and a hammer. "Want start off simple and painless, or do I need to work my way up to sheer agony?"

"Hit me with your best shot." The second man told her.

"Wish granted." Shi said before she placed one of the spikes over that man's right foot, which thanks to being tied to the chair he couldn't move. With a single strike of her hammer, she pounded the spike thru his foot into the floor. The man was obviously hurt, but he suppressed any scream.

"Trying to be tough huh. That's nothing new to me." Shi commented, looking over the man. This one she just hurt was wearing a white hood and a black lower-face mask, making his green eyes the only identifying features he had. Part of her wanted to remove his hood and mask, but she left them on, out of concern he had some sort of trap that would go off in such an event. Some ninja did have those on their person so the enemy couldn't examine their bodies if they died. Other than that, he wore a black cloak with red clouds and sported a slashed Taki hitai-ate.

"That shit won't work on me. I relish pain. Jashin-sama loves it." The other man told her. His face was openly revealed, but his most identifying feature was his slick silver hair. He wore the same outfit the masked man wore but no hitai-ate was visible. Shi guessed his was slashed as well and wondered if he came from Taki like the others.

"Then let me give you what you want." Shi said before pounding her second spike into his left foot.

"Fuck that hurts! Dammit!" This man apparently enjoyed pain much less than he had claimed.

"You'll never get anything out of us." The masked man stated.

"I can try." Shi said, putting down her hammer and grabbing a black kunai, twirling it with her finger in the loop at the end. "See this? This kunai is carved from obsidian. Obsidian can be especially dangerous since even if it's poorly sharpened it can still cut like a razor. Meaning the whole 'cut you with a dull knife' threat is still lethal with this weapon."

"For an interrogator you're doing a poor job. You should be asking us questions, not showing off your toys." The masked man stated.

"Oh I know how to do my job. You want questions? Here's one for starters. I'm told you two were trying to abduct a girl last night, but you fell victim to the traps she has in her house. Tell me, why were you after her?"

The silver-haired man laughed. "You seriously have to ask that? Fuck you're a dumbass bitch. We were after her because she's a jinchuuriki."

"How did you find that out?" Shi asked.

"From those stupid ex-Taki nin." The masked man told her. "We came across them on our of our scouting missions and they said they intended to take Taki's renegade jinchuuriki and offer her as a trade for the Hero's Water. Since we were looking for jinchuuriki we decided to assist them, only until the jinchuuriki was actually in possession."

"So those four arrested are separate from you, just tools to make finding and capturing her easier." Shi noted. "How did you find her or this village?"

The silver-haired man smiled. "That was easy. We checked Taki's records to get a description of the jinchuuriki and found out she was in a village named Oto. Someone in our group had a sleeper agent stationed here so they were 'woken up' and came to us to tell us how to get here."

'A sleeper agent in Oto? How did that happen?' Shi asked herself.

"So with the agent getting here and finding her was a breeze. The one thing we were misinformed on was how well protected her home was." The silver-haired man added.

"Why were you after her? Why would you want a jinchuuriki?" Shi asked.

"We'll never tell."

Shi pressed an intercom button. "Bring me the stuff needed for a waterboard."

"Yes Shi-sama." The voice on the other end replied.

"Still refuse to tell?" Shi asked, crossing her arms.

"I'm not afraid of water."

"Me neither."

"Who are you working for?" Shi asked.

The masked man looked amused. "You want to know? Okay. We work for a group that intends to harness the power of all jinchuuriki for ourselves. With it, we can have everything. Money, and other stuff of course."

"You and your money." The silver-haired man said rolling his eyes. "Jashin-sama has no need for such mortal vices."

"Your so-called deity wouldn't know how to poor piss out of a boot if the instructions were written on the heel." The masked man claimed.

'Obviously these two are assigned together rather than working by choice, meaning this group of theirs is organized rather than random, and whoever makes the decisions must be capable of reinforcing their choices to make them work together despite their friction.' Shi noted. "How do you plan to use the jinchuuriki?"

"We don't. We plan to kill them and take their bijuu away." The masked man answered.

The door opened and in came an Alto carrying a bucket and a blanket. "Here you go Shi-sama." They said before leaving.

"Good luck. I know for a fact we have to be on our backs for the full effects of this torture method, and with our feet stuck to the ground that can't be done in these chairs." The masked man stated.

"Then I'll have to cut the feet off." Shi countered, holding her obsidian kunai. "Unless you want to tell me what your real goal here is."

"You don't believe us?" The silver-haired man asked.

"I was taught never to take the first answer at face value, especially when I don't have to work hard to get it." Shi claimed.

"Torture us all you want, you cannot kill us. We will escape from here, kill you, and be back for the jinchuuriki." The masked man insisted with conviction.

Shi put down her kunai. "Damn, they forgot the other thing I wanted. Wait right here gentlemen, I won't be long." She said before leaving the room. 'That should get them to sweat a little. If not, what I have in mind sure will.' Going to the supply room, she grabbed what looked like a cattleprod you plugged into the wall.

She came back to the room two minutes after she left, but both of her captives were gone.

* * *

Back inside the hotel Naruto found himself in someone elses room. A young woman in her twenties who was in the process of getting dressed. Fortunately for Naruto she couldn't see him, but if he messed up she'd hear him.

Closing his eyes Naruto moved as quietly as possible to walk out the room. 'Thank you Haku-chan for the silent killing lessons with your dad. I really owe you one now.' He opened his eyes and found himself in the hall. 'Okay, now's my chance.'

He deactivated Ghost Body and began the countdown to the next time he could activate another bloodline. 'One...' Before he could get to two Itachi and Kisame appeared at both ends of the hall, trapping him. 'Crap.'

"Good, you're realized the futility of hiding from my eyes." Itachi stated.

"Let me ask you one thing, are you Itachi Uchiha?"

"Yes."

"The same Itachi Uchiha who allegedly killed an entire clan by himself in one night?" Naruto added for emphasis, but mostly to buy him more time.

"How many Itachi Uchiha do you know?" The missing nin rhetorically asked.

Naruto stepped forward. "As much as I'd prefer to run, I promised someone important to both of us I would try something if I ever encountered you. Looks like now's my chance."

He didn't show it, but Itachi was curious. "Who could possibly be close to both of us?"

"Why waste time talking? Let's just subdue him and get out of here." Kisame insisted.

"Not so fast, I want to hear this." The rogue Uchiha stated.

"They said they know why you did what you did, but do you truly know why you had to do it?" Naruto asked Itachi.

Itachi looked confused, then bothered. "I don't know who you're speaking for, but if you're implying what I think you are then you and this person are too late to do anything about it."

"I did my part, the rest is up to you." Naruto replied. 'Please, let it already be nine seconds.'

"Yes, I will." Itachi said, ready to use his sharingan to overwhelm the younger boy's mind.

At that moment Naruto managed to activate his Neo-Sharingan. Doing so protected him from Itachi's genjutsu, but it would take more than that to get out of this mess.

The Uchiha noted the whiskered blonde's now-orange eyes. Confused, he ultimately decided it wasn't going to save the boy. "Tsukuyomi."

"Extreme Tsukuyomi."

As expected Itachi found himself in a barren landscape lit only by a red moon overhead. What he didn't expect was for Naruto to not be bound in any form. Nope, the blonde looked as free as he himself was.

"I had a feeling you'd try that. Luckily now the playing field is even." Naruto said, standing before Itachi with his arms crossed.

"You've used Tsukuyomi against me at the same time I used it on you." Itachi realized. "Two genjutsus clashing like this are bound to cancel each other out, especially such similar ones."

Naruto nodded. "True, but my eyes are designed to counter your own. So I designed my genjutsu to keep us here for as long as I want, up to 72 hours of course. In that time we both are free to do whatever we want."

"Then I suppose us fighting each other would in the long run prove pointless." Itachi noted.

Naruto shrugged. "Maybe. So instead of fighting, let's talk."

"What do we have to say to each other?" Itachi asked.

"I'll tell you who the message came from if you tell me why you're after me." Naruto stated.

"I suppose that can be done, since you knowing won't change a thing." The Uchiha commented. "I am part of a group of A-to-S-ranked missing nin banded together, working to collect all the demons sealed inside others so our leader can use them to end the ninja system once and for all."

"By killing off all other ninja leaving you guys the only ones left?" Naruto asked, not liking the idea one bit.

"Someone has to remain to ensure there are no other remnants." Itachi stated.

"Basically it's the whole world-domination ploy." Naruto summarized. "Most people outgrow that idea by the time they're six."

"Most people don't have the power to make it possible, but we do." Itachi countered.

"And you actually think the others in your group are going to share this power?" Naruto asked. "You said these are missing nin of very high rank all working together for a common goal. Even I know that you don't become a missing nin by being cooperative. You're all cooperating now because it suits your intentions, but once that's no longer necessary someone is going to decide to keep the power for themselves."

"I'm well aware of that." Itachi confirmed.

"So you're working in an organization that's pretty much a ticking time bomb, and that organization intends to destroy our entire way of life?" Naruto clarified, not buying it. "Why would you think this is a good idea?"

"You wouldn't understand. Anyway, I've upheld my part of the deal. Now you tell me who your contact is."

"Alright, it's someone you should be quite familiar with. Your mother." Naruto answered.

Itachi's eyes hardened dangerously. "Don't lie to me boy."

"I'm not. Your mother survived your little slaughter and has been with my allies all this time. She's like an aunt to me, and she taught me how to do this genjutsu we're in right now." Naruto replied.

"You lie." Itachi repeated.

"Why would I lie about that Itachi? You could just as easily prove me wrong if I was, and let's face it after this you're going to be tempted too confirm whether or not she's dead." Naruto said, fearless.

'He's right. Try as I might to ignore it, he's planted a seed of curiosity in my mind now.' Itachi thought.

"But if you were to let me go, I could get your mother to greet you somewhere specific so you can see for yourself. As long as you're not going to finish what you started six years ago."

"Why should I believe you?" Itachi pressed.

"Because I'm your own chance." Naruto answered. "Interested?"

* * *

In the outside world only mere seconds had passed without Itachi or Naruto showing any interaction. Kisame stood off to the side waiting for Naruto to fall limp so they could take him to Ame.

Naruto and Itachi jerked at the same time, and Kisame was ready to do his part. To his surprise, Naruto was as conscious and alert as ever. 'Itachi's genjutsu failed? Impossible.'

"I don't know what you did, but we still will bring you in." Itachi declared.

"Let me get him Itachi. The boss needs him alive, but the boy doesn't need legs or anything for what we'll do to him." Kisame offered.

"What will stop him from bleeding to death then?" Itachi asked his partner. Kisame didn't have an answer for that.

Naruto leaned against the wall, feeling tired from the Extreme Tsukuyomi. But just when he deactivated his Neo-Sharingan to conserve chakra, something he hoped not to see came into sight.

"Naru-kun?"

"Hinata! Run!" He shouted at his wife who was at the end of the hall.

"Ah, so he wasn't here alone after all." Kisame noted with glee. Without another word he came right at Hinata almost too fast for her to see.

On reflex Hinata activated her byakugan and attacked him with the surudoken. To her horror, it appeared to have no effect on him.

"Nice try little girl, but I've got too much chakra for one Hyuuga technique to effect me." Kisame announced. "I've been called a bijuu without a tail because of my vast chakra."

'He is bleeding chakra, but his reserves are keeping his body from being in any immediate danger. This guy won't go down easy, even if I used the juuken instead.' Hinata considered, eyeing his chakra network.

Naruto ran past Itachi and stood defiantly between his wife and the fishman. "Try anything and I'll kill you."

Kisame looked amused. "I'd like to see you try. I'll even give you a free shot."

Naruto was grateful for that and started a series of false hand signs to buy him time to use a different kekkei genkai. 'I have to make this one count, or else we're finished.'

Done with the fake hand seals, Naruto chose one more bloodline to use. He cocked his fist and punched Kisame in the stomach. The ex-Kiri nin didn't feel a thing.

"Is that it?" Kisame taunted.

"It's enough. Just wait a few seconds." Naruto replied.

"Bad idea kid going for a delayed react-" Kisame started, but suddenly disappeared into his clothes which billowed down to the floor.

Itachi was quite surprised. "What did you do to him?" 'It's like Kisame just vanished.'

"Look for yourself." Naruto insisted, holding his out out to point at the robes, where something began to squirm under them.

Curious, Itachi came over and moved the robes. Under them he saw Kisame, but he no longer looked normal. Instead, the shark-like shinobi looked like a one year old baby.

"What in the world?" Itachi asked, using his sharingan to see any deception but found none. At that moment he felt someone punch him. 'Oh crap, I inadvertently gave Naruto an opening. But I thought he-'

Itachi couldn't finish that thought, for he too became an infant.

"Heh, I knew Age Control would come in handy in fights." Naruto stated, looking very worn out. 'The one flaw to Age Control is the effect isn't instantaneous. the subject ages or de-ages slowly rather than right away. I can make the process quicker but that results in a delayed start first.'

"What was going on Naru-kun?" Hinata asked, coming up to him to support him since it looked like he didn't want to stand up anymore.

Naruto sat down in the hall with her next to him. "Long story short, these guys are from some group trying to collect jinchuuriki. I tried to get them away from here so they wouldn't harm you, and I tried to find out more about them at the same time. Turns out one of these guys is Subsonic's older son."

"The one that tried to kill her?"

Naruto nodded. "I was able to get a lot of information out of him. He was either overconfident or merciful, but he told me what the threat was. I threw him for a loop by telling him he could see his mother alive again if he let me go today."

"Why would you do that?" Hinata asked.

"He's an S-ranked missing nin Hina-chan. Even with all my bloodlines there was never a guarantee I could get away from him. I had to find some sort of leverage over him and that was the only kind I saw." Naruto explained. "Plus I wanted to see his reaction. If he cared about his mother or not. She may not say much about her sons but you know Subsonic cares for them both, even this one."

"But what do we do now?" Hinata said, glancing at the two new babies.

"Can you summon a slug and have it take them to Oto? I'm too tired to take them there directly or summon anything myself." Naruto said. Using the Extreme Tsukuyomi was tiring enough, but add in the several changes between bloodlines in such a short time and Naruto was worn out.

Hinata nodded. "Yeah, I'm in no mood for our personal time to be over just yet."

* * *

Back in Oto, Tsunade was in a park watching her son Isato run around with a few other kids his age. She sat on a bench watching his every move but quite happy to just watch.

'My little boy, I'm so lucky to have you. I owe it all to Naruto, and of course Jiraiya for helping me conceive. I wonder what Dan would think if he saw me now, a mother and wife to my old teammate who's still perverted as hell but only acts on it around me. I bet he'd be happy for me and wish us all well, Dan was that kind of person.'

All of a sudden a large slug appeared in front of her, briefly startling her. "Tsunade-sama I have a delivery for you."

"From who?"

"From a Hinata Uzumaki." The slug replied. Right then Tsunade noted that on the slugs back there were two black bundles containing two human babies and a note pinned to one of them.

"This should be interesting." Tsunade said as she took the children off the slug, seeing the blue skin on one and pure-black hair on the other. 'Obviously not Naruto and Hinata's kids but that should be a given.' She then read the note and the slug went away.

_Tsunade-sama, while we were relaxing here two missing nin attacked Naru-kun this morning. Within the hour of you getting this note, assuming the slug gets to you quickly that is. One of them was positively identified as Itachi Uchiha._

'Oh that could go bad so quickly.' Tsunade thought.

_The other ninja wasn't positively identified, but he bore the symbol of Kiri. They came there to take Naru-kun away with them, but they didn't seem to have any plans for me. Naru-kun did his best to get them away, but couldn't do it for long. Naru-kun said he was able to get some information out of Itachi regarding the plan. The Uchiha stated that there is an organization in existence that is working on taking all the jinchuuriki for themselves, and all members are missing nin at a ranking of A at the very least._

'Is that what happened to Fuu last night?' Tsunade asked herself, not entirely clear on the details of that incident last night just yet.

_Naru-kun says he tried to talk Itachi into letting us go on the grounds that Subsonic could see him later at an agreed upon time. He says Itachi initially agreed and was going to stage an accident to let us escape, but it didn't look like that was going to happen, so Naru-kun had little choice but to subdue them both completely. The two babies you see are the two nin I'm referring to, subjected to Age Control. I trust your judgment in what to do with them until we return, though I should point out I think Subsonic should have a say in what to do about her son. See you when we return. And if you see any of the other girls, tell them to work on their stretches because I can barely walk without limping._

'That last part was more than I needed to know, but this is good. And bad.' Tsunade thought. 'The good part is we're warned and can get prepared. The bad part is this group may be able to find Oto soon if they haven't already and put us all at risk, and with two members unable to report back they're going to see Naruto as a major threat to themselves and do something about him. Which makes me wonder if it's better in the long run to keep these two here under observation or return them to normal and let them go but therefore able to send others in their place later.'

Thinking it over Tsunade couldn't come up with an answer. As she thought it over Jiraiya came to her. "Hey dear, what's this? Babysitting?"

"Look at this Jiraiya." She said, giving him the note before looking back to her son.

The toad sannin read the note. "I see. The others aren't going to like this."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"Shizune's got a date tomorrow."

Tsunade blinked and turned to him. "Excuse me?"

"That's something you don't know." Jiraiya joked. "But this is more important."

* * *

"What have you been able to determine?" Orochimaru asked Shi, Oto's version of Ibiki.

"It appears that four of the ninja captured last night originated from Taki Otokage-sama." Shi started. "Technically, there are five, but the fifth one was part of a separate group."

"You're in good company you know. You can take the mask off." Orochimaru told her.

"Sorry Otokage-sama, sometimes I forget it's even on." She said before removing her mask. Her face was pale but quite lovely. She had no unique features except for her light brown eyes and a small burn mark above her left eyebrow. Her hair was held back with clips in a way where only her left ear showed, her right ear covered by her hair. Age-wise she appeared to be in her thirties.

"So go on. What did you find Shi-san? Or should I use your real name?" Orochimaru continued.

Shi shook her head. "No, this is still business so I prefer my business name. Anyway, four of the ninja that tried to abduct Fuu-san were excommunicated shinobi from Taki. Their original crime had been trying to steal Taki's famous secret tool the Heroes Water. Apparently these four decided that they could trade Fuu-san to Taki for it."

"Taki probably would have accepted the trade, even if it meant going behind the Takikage's back." Orochimaru thought out loud. "But how did they learn where to find Fuu-san? This is the first breach of Oto's security."

Shi nodded. "That was my first concern too. As far as I knew, the only people who can find Oto are those who already have been to it. My original theories were the following, that these four or one of them were originally part of our village when it was founded then disappeared to come back later, that they tricked the Daimyo with a false mission request in order to be brought here, or that the inevitable discovery of our hidden village has already happened."

"So what did they say?"

Shi sighed. "This is where it gets difficult Otokage-sama. If what they said is the truth it was neither of those. You see, I'm talking about four of the captives, but there were six arrested. The remaining two, they were actually separate. They came here with the four to abduct Fuu-san, but they had no intention of bringing her to Taki."

"So two members had a separate agenda the other four were unaware of?" Orochimaru asked.

"It seems so, but those two are the ones who found Oto. One of them said it was done via a hidden sleeper agent waking up." Shi responded.

'A sleeper agent? Someone placed a sleeper agent in Oto? When?' Orochimaru asked himself. "It had to be Taki. They always did intend to take Fuu back when her training was adequate enough that they didn't have to do much more themselves for it. They must have known I knew their intentions and put in a contingency plan."

"But Otokage-sama, the two captives that actually interacted with the sleeper agent had no intention of bringing her back to Taki." Shi corrected. "I think Taki is actually innocent in this. No one here was acting on Taki's orders."

"Then whose orders were they acting on?" The snake sannin asked.

"The four original captives were acting on their own, like normal missing nin." The brown-eyed woman asked. "But the other two... I got the feeling that the only reason I got any information out of them was because they let me. They told me about the sleeper agent, they told me they were after Fuu-san, they told me it wasn't for Taki, and they told me they were coming back for her."

"How can they come back for her if they're trapped?" Orochimaru asked.

"My thoughts exactly. As an interrogator, I know that something is wrong when the subject doesn't need to be tormented to get information out of them. The worst kind of person for us to encounter is not the one who refuses to talk, but the one who has no reason to withhold information. Such a person is basically telling us that even with information it's too late for us to do anything against them. And sometimes they're right."

"Let's hope now isn't one of those times." The pale ninja stated. "So what happened next?"

"This may not have been the wisest thing I could have done, but I wanted to test their conviction." Shi admitted. "I left the room, using the whole 'What comes next?' tactic my old sensei taught me to get them to panic a bit, but when I came back they were completely gone. All traces of them, gone."

Orochimaru got rigid in his seat. "You didn't forget to lock the door did you?"

"Of course I locked the door." The formally-masked woman confirmed. "I tied them up, pinned their feet to the ground, I even had the equipment for waterboarding ready. When I got back the chairs were right where I left them, the spikes were still in the floor, and the door was still locked from the inside. It was as if the two had never been there in the first place. But the other four captives were still in their cells."

"It had to be clones. Highly advanced clones if they could withstand the physical pain of spikes thru their feet." Orochimaru commented. "It couldn't be genjutsu. That's your specialty. You would have seen right thru it."

"However they escaped, they left a note that self-destructed. It said 'We know where you are and what you have. Next time you won't be able to stop us'." Shi added.

Orochimaru took a calming breath. "We will have to ensure Fuu is safe for the time being. Same with Naruto since it's likely they will come for him too. Can you describe these two ninjas?"

Shi nodded. "Yes. These were the two ninja that fell into Fuu-san's traps last night. One had silver hair and purple eyes, the other had a white hood and black lower-face mask, making his green eyes the only part of him I could see. He wore a slashed Taki hitai-ate, but I saw no hitai-ate on the other. Both wore black cloaks with red clouds. When I asked who they worked for, they didn't give a direct answer. One said he was just trying to get money and I think the other said he was working for a 'Jashin-sama', which from the context I can only assume is some sort of pagan god. Both had high chakra levels, almost as high as your own if not higher. But both of their chakra felt... unnatural."

"Unnatural how?"

Shi paused to think of the best way to describe it. "I was sensing their chakras together, unable to determine which one was creating which type in the small room. But the feeling I got was... I can only describe it as cold and chimerical."

"Chimerical chakra?" Orochimaru repeated. "That's a strange term to use."

"It felt like there were more than tow people's chakras blended together in that room, like someone had taken chakra from multiple chakra sources and mixed them together in one body. Like if Naruto was using all nine of his kekkei genkai at once. The feeling would be chimerical to a sensor." Shi insisted.

"Whatever the proper term to use is, the important thing is we need to be prepared for a second attempt to kidnap our two jinchuuriki. For now Shi, keep this under wraps. We don't want word getting out that Oto is no longer off the map so to speak. I'll tell the Altos so they can prepare accordingly."

"Yes Otokage-sama. By the way, off the record, what is the progress on my personal request?" Shi asked.

"I'm already on it. You'll get your answer in less than a month, now that we have an expert to look into it." The snake sannin said with a grin.


	77. Yakumo

Ch. 77 Yakumo

In Konoha several people were trying to regain a sense of normality, but at night they could sleep like always. But on this night, one family couldn't, or to be more precise, wasn't allowed.

"Dammit, what the hell are you doing?" Unkai Kurama yelled as he fought off a pair of masked ninja who had broken into his home. Both wielded ninjato and he was fighting with a pair of kunai, forcing him to block more than go on the offensive.

"That is not for you to know." One of them stated before trying another slash at the Kurama clan head. Unkai blocked but this was just a decoy to divert his attention away from the other ninja who attacked from behind. Unkai blocked from behind without having to turn around.

"You think I got to be clan head by being weak?" Unkai taunted.

"No, you got it because your brother and his wife died. You're just a seat filler." The second ninja replied.

"Then how come I'm still fending you off?" Unkai rhetorically asked.

"Are you?" The first ninja replied in the same tone.

The attacks continued and Unkai kept blocking them both, but now his certainty was tested. 'Is he trying to mess with me? His words if true imply that they're only letting me fend them off. Which means...' He silently gasped.

* * *

Outside in the forest, Yakumo was currently running from her home. 'I have to find myself some cover, buy myself time to come up with a way to fight back.'

Yakumo had been awakened by an intruder breaking into her room and trying to apply chakra suppression seals to her before she could react. However, Yakumo's reflexes were much better than anticipated and she got out of her bed before the seals could make contact with her. On instinct she grabbed her sketch pad and made a run for the forest around her house, hoping to lure the enemy away from her home to avoid further damage to it.

The artist came to a stop and hid behind a tree, trying to sense out her surroundings for her pursuer. Feeling a bit safe, albeit cold since she was out in her nightgown, she looked over her sketchpad. 'Okay, what do I have here I can use if I have to fight? I brought no weapons so genjutsu's my one tool here.'

She flipped over the cover, looking at drawings meant to be used as genjutsu mediums in place of her paintings. Paintings were more effective for her, probably because she could put more detail into them, but drawings worked too when she needed something quicker and more convenient to carry around.

"This one should work well." She said, settling on the first picture in the book. "Once I find this person that is."

"Yakumo, am I too late?" A familiar voice said before a familiar face appeared.

"Sai? What are you-?"

"Not now, others might hear." The pale boy warned. "I saw some ninja head this way and got concerned. You're not hurt are you?" Yakumo shook her head. "Good, come with me."

Nodding, Yakumo followed her teammate as he tried to escort her back to the main part of the village where attacking her would be risky. Or at least, that's what he was supposed to be doing, for her sense of direction was telling her otherwise.

"Sai this is the wrong way." Yakumo whispered.

"No it isn't." He simply countered.

Despite her gut telling her this was a mistake, Yakumo trusted Sai to help her. It also didn't hurt that she was a bit sweet on the boy since they had a common interest, art. Though Sai didn't seem to care about his art, he was talented, and that's what impressed her more than anything. She didn't have a crush on him, but she found him to be pleasant company compared to Shino.

After they were away from the Kurama compound, in a forest that separated them from the basic streetwork of Konoha, Sai brought them to a stop. "Mission accomplished Danzou-sama." He said to the trees.

"What?" Yakumo asked, suddenly confused, and feeling something akin to 'I should have known' in the back of her mind.

From out of the shadows, as if he had used a jutsu that made them hide him even better than they would have naturally, the bandaged crippled old man walked out into the moonlight. "Good work Sai, as always."

"Wait, I was told you were killed in the invasion." Yakumo managed to say, having been told Sarutobi and his elder advisers were all killed by the Oto and Suna nin. The deaths of Homura and Koharu were the only ones that actually happened in public though.

"Let's just say reports of my death were greatly exaggerated." Danzou said smugly, feeling a bit high on himself for having cheated the Oto shinobi who killed his double. Yep, the Danzou that the Oto nin had killed in his base was nothing more than a well-made double of his. Not a clone, but someone he cast a very high quality genjutsu on to make them look like, sound like, and even have sharingan like him, until moments after his death when the double's true identity would be revealed. Fortunately Danzou also had arranged it so a weaker genjutsu would trigger if the first genjutsu failed, keeping up the image of Danzou on the corpse, in order to deceive any people still around.

(AN: Basically he did to someone what Itachi did to Yura in the Gaara Rescue Arc.)

"Then why didn't you reveal yourself right after the enemy left?" Yakumo added.

"A cautionary necessity, in case some remnants remained to kill more while we were frail. I suspect some such remnants are attacking your home now, and we should get you to safety."

"What about my uncle?"

"Forget him, he's unnecessary. You're the one who needs to be taken somewhere." Danzou said, and if his words were meant to comfort her they instead got the exact opposite result.

'My uncle may mean nothing to him, but he means something to me, and I need to go get him.' Yakumo thought before darting away.

Sai was about to go get her. "Stop Sai." Danzou ordered.

"Danzou-sama?"

"Let her go off. This will help break her down so I can build her up again in my image." The warhawk said with a villainous grin.

* * *

Yakumo ran back home, looking thru her sketchpad in hopes of finding one of her drawings that would affect more than one person at once.

A weakness of genjutsu is that by its nature it works best when done to a minimum of targets, preferably just one. Spreading it out was not impossible, but it diluted the chakra and weakened the illusion considerably. Sometimes enough that it was ineffective. So far the only person known to be able to cast genjutsu on several people simultaneously without fail was the late Fugaku Uchiha.

Yakumo's genjutsus, while no doubt powerful, were still basically genjutsu in terms of creation so therefore they followed the same rules to start. It was merely the end result which was different than normal genjutsu. Her paintings allowed her to affect more than one person, but simpler pictures got better results than complicated ones. The more specific her art was, the harder it was to affect more than one person as intended. Sort of like trying to cut two people with just one swing of a sword.

"Okay, this will do for two or more people." She said when she found a suitable drawing.

When she got to her house, she froze. The two masked ninja had Unkai cut and bleeding profusely and worn out enough that he was struggling to hold his head up. Once the Kurama clan head realized these two were merely a diversion, they stopped being a diversion and got serious in their attacks. Needless to say they broke thru his defenses and now had him at their mercy.

Unkai was on his knees with each ninja holding back an arm as if ready to rip it off. "Save yourself Yakumo!" He managed to yell out.

"Don't even try it girl. If you do we'll kill him then go after you. And don't bother using one of your genjutsus on us, we'll be sure to kill him before you can get him away from us." The ninja holding Unkai's right arm back countered.

Yakumo frowned, no longer the afraid-to-fight girl they were likely prepared for. "Don't bother huh? I think not." She then showed them one of her drawings, which depicting two different sets of arms having their hands severed behind the wrists and blood spurting out.

The results came far too quickly for the masked ninja's likings. Each felt a cut on their arms and saw their hands become severed, cut off by some unseen blade. They tried instinctively to break the genjutsu, but Yakumo's genjutsus weren't illusions, they were real.

'Some say art imitates life, but in my case life imitates art.' She thought before putting away her sketchpad and running to her uncle. But before she could reach him, she felt a pull on her whole body, and her vision briefly blurred before she saw Danzou in front of her.

"Enjoy your little escape?" He teased.

'What the heck just happened?' Yakumo asked herself, and looked around only to find she was away from her home, as if summoned away. Not wanting to wait long enough to be given an explanation, Yakumo fled again, finding her way back to her home.

The two masked ninja who lost their hands to her genjutsu were trying to stop the bleeding, but some masked comrades of theirs had arrived to finish the job, and Yakumo showed up as soon as one of them plunged a nodachi in one side of Unkai's neck and out the other side.

The young brunette froze solid in horror, and had she been of less stable mind her Id demon might have come out right then. But thanks to Naruto, that wasn't going to happen, so she remained still, having difficulty accepting the sight she just saw.

Right away the uninjured masked ninja left into the woods, leaving Unkai to drop to the ground. That snapped Yakumo back to reality and she went to him. "Unkai-ojisan!"

The man wasn't dead yet, but unless treatment was given he was about to be in a few moments. With his last bits of spare energy, he used his blood to write something on the cover of Yakumo's dropped sketchpad, then passed out.

With teary eyes, Yakumo looked at his message. "Safe... and... sound? What does that mean?"

Rather than get an answer, she felt a strange tug on her and she found herself in front of Danzou again, who was surrounded by the very masked ninja she had seen kill her only direct living relative. "I hope you realize that escape is futile. You have nowhere to go, the rest of your clan won't take you in once I get involved, and even if you run, you _will_ always come back to me."

"What are you doing? Why me?" Yakumo asked, still crying and holding her sketchpad to her chest.

"You've been of great interest to me for a number of years. The ability to manipulate reality itself on the level you can, it's exactly the kind of power I crave. If you utilize it properly, you could slaughter enemy armies without wasting a single kunai. Maybe even control the very thoughts of people like daimyos without anyone being aware of it or able to prove it. With you in my possession, trained the right way, I can finally realize my destiny."

Yakumo was stunned that his man saw her power as nearly godlike and intended to dominate her use of it like a tyrant. He saw her as a weapon of mass destruction and political corruption, and he fully intended to have sole say over how she used it. Something about his claim didn't make sense though, and once she realized that she frowned. "Let me guess, the reason you weren't able to do anything to me sooner was because of my mental instability, right?"

"Unfortunately yes. Thanks to your little split personality problem my training methods would have done more harm than good. The risk of you becoming a monster who'd use your powers against me was too great. But I never lost interest, so I had Sai placed on your team to monitor your progress and see if you ever showed promise."

Yakumo looked at her smiling teammate, feeling a bit betrayed. "All this time you've been spying on me? You knew what he wanted?"

"Danzou-sama is the rightful ruler of Konoha. His will is law." Sai answered, still smiling. Now it bothered Yakumo more than it usually did.

"Now it seems you're mentally fit to undertake my training. Once I removed your emotional ties now and make it look like you died tragically so no one will search for you after tonight." Danzou added.

Yakumo realized this was no ordinary kidnapping anymore, if anything this was closer to an abduction because Danzou had no intention of returning her after being given a ransom. No, he intended to keep her.

"And in case you're thinking of leaving again, don't waste your energy." Danzou warned. "Years ago when Sarutobi was tending to your problem, I managed to place a seal on the back of your head under your hair where no one could see it. I couldn't take the Hiraishin for myself, but I was able to make this version that brings you to me rather than me to you. So any time you try to leave, past present or future, I can make you come to me with little effort. Understand?"

"That's all we needed to hear." A hidden voice said before a few blurs were seen and all masked ninja had their heads cut off by unseen assailants. Danzou, Sai, and Yakumo were spared but on high alert.

'How could someone get here without me knowing it?' Danzou asked. He was close to revealing his main hidden sharingan, i.e. the one actually in his eye socket, but he wanted to withhold that for later. He did get his right arm out of its holder though, but still wrapped up.

One ninja appeared in front of Danzou, standing close to Yakumo. This was Mikoto Uchiha in her Subsonic persona, this time sporting an Oto hitai-ate. She quickly grabbed Yakumo, placed a piece of paper on the back of her head, then substituted with a large rock, taking Yakumo with her.

'A two-person substitution with one inanimate object?' Danzou asked himself, realizing what the enemy ninja had done. 'Never mind that, I can still get the girl.' He tried to activate Yakumo's seal, but she did not appear before him. "Damn, that shinobi has somehow negated the seal's power. Sai, start looking for her, they can't have gotten far. Not with a mere substitution jutsu, especially one that used more than one person."

"Yes Danzou-sama." The pale boy said before departing. Danzou himself made a call out for more Root, but not too many because he couldn't risk the rest of Konoha learning of what he was trying to do while they still believed he was dead.

When the smoke cleared Yakumo saw she was in a forest but nowhere near her compound. Nothing looked familiar. "Where am I? What do you want from me?" She asked, fighting Subsonic's grasp. To her surprise Subsonic released her without a problem.

"Yakumo Kurama, there is no need to be afraid." She started. "I've been watching Konoha for years, learning of the dark things the people running it have been trying to do without the populous knowing. I don't know everything, but I've known for years regarding Danzou's plans regarding you here. I couldn't act on your behalf sooner because of the very seal he placed on you, if I had he would have been alerted and any chance at saving you might have been lost forever. But now that's no longer a problem. My only intention here is to release you from this seal that would result in only misery for you if it remains."

"How do I know I can trust you?" Yakumo asked.

"Nothing I do can convince you right now, but _not_ trusting me means Danzou will get his hands on you sooner or later." Subsonic told her.

'Looks like I have no choice, but something tells me that if this person wanted to control me they wouldn't remove something that restricts me.' Yakumo thought before submitting.

"Thank you. Now, since this seal on you is based on the Yondaime's Hiraishin, that makes removing it difficult. Only someone of his caliber can remove it from you."

Yakumo looked depressed by the claim, then heard someone approach.

"Or maybe the Yondaime himself can remove it." Minato said as he came into view.

* * *

'Found them.' Sai thought while kneeling in the bushes, looking at Yakumo, Minato, and a masked kunoichi. He pulled out his scroll and quickly got to work on drawing some reinforcement. In the middle of his work a number of kunai impaled his paper and ruined his drawings, making them unusable. Before he could draw any more or make a counter-move, one of Subsonic's masked assistants came up behind the pale boy and knocked him out with a blow to the back of the head.

One drawing got away intact, a black mouse that scurried as fast as it could move.

* * *

Subsonic smiled and Yakumo was frozen in shock. "We suspected that the seal was similar to the Hiraishin, but we couldn't risk removing it without full understanding. Which we never could get without drawing attention. Now we know for sure, and now we can remove it." Subsonic told the young kunoichi.

"How could you even learn of my seal in the first place?" Yakumo asked.

"That would be the work of my assistant Flat." Subsonic admitted. "I never said I do this job alone."

Minato knelt down and pulled off the paper stuck to the back of her head. "This here was an anti-Hiraishin seal, one created by me in case my jutsu ever got used against me. No one in Konoha knows it exists, so the old man after you has no way to counter it. Before we go any further, I'll see if I can remove your seal here."

Yakumo nodded and allowed him to check. He moved her hair as best he could to check on it, but it kept obstructing his view. "It's no good, I can't do anything without shaving the back of her head first, and doing that here would be dangerous if someone from Konoha shows up. Our best bet here is to take her to Oto where I can work in peace."

"So no matter what, I'm being abducted tonight." Yakumo grimly concluded. 'Do I have any genjutsu that can fend off the Yondaime?'

"This is a rescue, not an abduction." Subsonic reassured her. "Besides, there's someone in Oto who wants to see you. Someone we know you want to see too."

That confused the genjutsu enthusiast. 'Who could that be? The only one from that village I have anything close to a connection to is the boy who healed my mind. Why would he want to see me again?'

Minato tensed. "Hide." He quietly warned the two women. Subsonic nodded and substituted with a log taking Yakumo with her, while Minato used a flash step to dodge a wind jutsu coming from an unseen threat. 'That looked like a Great Breakthrough Jutsu.' He thought when he flash stepped back into place while Subsonic and Yakumo remained in hiding.

"Show yourself Shimura, unless you're too feeble to do something without your Root in front of you."

Danzou emerged from the woods, glaring at Minato. "You've got some nerve betraying the village you led and died for."

Minato returned the glare a hundred-fold. "The mere fact you feel I'm in the wrong for my decision, knowing full well why I made it, only proves my decision could not have been less wrong."

"I'm actually glad you're gone. Now I can take the hokage seat for myself, which it should have been all this time."

"You'll have to live thru the night if you want to be hokage." Minato threatened.

Danzou didn't look worried, instead he revealed his sharingan but not his arm. "You may be good at taking down armies Yellow Flash, but how good are you at fighting someone one-on-one?"

"You're making a mistake Danzou." Minato stated, not looking bothered by the claim Danzou just gave.

"I don't make mistakes. Mistakes are for amateurs." Danzou arrogantly declared, reading a series of hand signs. "Wind Style Vacuum Blade Rush Jutsu." With a chakra-enhanced exhale Danzou shot out three intersecting white blades of empty space that could theoretically cut thru anything.

Minato threw three tri-kunai's around the area to give him some leverage. Using the first tri-kunai he jumped to inside a canopy behind his opponent, avoiding the jutsu that cleaved several trees instead of him. Before Danzou could locate him, he charged a rasengan and pounced at the old man's blind spot.

"Rasengan!" Minato shouted. Inches away from his back, Minato in a shocking twist ended up going thru the warhawk's body. "What?" Landing on the ground, he quickly rolled and jumped to the second tri-kunai marker before Danzou could catch him off guard this time.

Danzou smirked and turned around looking for Minato. "Is something wrong? Can't hit an old man?"

Minato soon started to shiver, thinking of the night when Naruto was born and he faced the masked interloper who started everything that led to the present. He slowly looked at Danzou with hate. "That was almost the same thing that happened twelve years ago. Tell me Danzou," Minato's voice soon became dark, then he took a deep breath. "Was it you? Are _you_ that masked man that was responsible for Kyuubi attacking Konoha?"

Danzou merely raised an eyebrow. 'Hmm... so the Kyuubi showing up wasn't random chance. It seems an Uchiha was truly responsible for that attack, an Uchiha that Namikaze was unable to defeat.' Hearing this new piece of information made him decide to toy with the former hokage. "I'm flattered you think it might have been me, but sadly it wasn't. But tell me Yondaime, Itachi Uchiha is with Akatsuki and they're after the bijuu, so how do you know it wasn't Itachi who caused the attack?"

"Itachi had nothing to do it. He was too young. So which Uchiha attacked Kushina?" Minato replied. Slowly getting into a stance, he then charged towards Danzou using a spinning high kick from above.

Danzou blocked the kick with both arms. Grabbing onto Minato's leg he placed a juinjutsu on the former Hokage, one meant to ensure the muscles in the affected area were frozen. "Now I got you." The warhawk smirked then Minato quickly vanished in a yellow flash appearing back to the first marker.

'Damn, he placed a juinjutsu on me. Thinks I don't know this type of of seal. Well he's wrong.' Minato thought. Quickly taking a normal kunai he threw it to the ground near Danzo. "Shadow Clone Jutsu." One clone appeared alongside Minato, and the clone dropped down to the ground, getting Danzou's attention. The real Minato quickly took out an ink brush and started to draw a few symbols on his leg. With a surge of chakra the juinjutsu was removed and he could use his leg again.

"Let me tell you something Yondaime, after I defeat you and show Konoha my power, the first thing I'm going to do is get the Kyuubi and turn its power on that feeble village you chose over Konoha." Danzou sneered. He charged towards the clone, certain he has a trump card against the former hokage.

Charging towards the clone, Danzou brought out a long-blade kunai and quickly added his wind affinity to it. Still running, he thrust the wind-enhanced kunai down onto Minato's shoulder slashing him in half vertically. 'It's over, nothing can stop me now.' Danzou thought with triumph, only to see Minato poof into smoke, making the old warhawk grit his teeth.

"Come on Danzou, you didn't think I would be that easy to defeat did you?" The real Minato chuckled. Appearing on the ground, Minato quickly delivered a punch to Danzou. Danzou quickly turned and twisted his body, dodging the blow. Minato, the faster of the two, was able to react properly and quickly attacked him from the side with a kick to the midsection.

"Got you." The kick sent the cripple off his feet, skidding across the ground. "I guess I drew first blood." Minato chuckled, watching Danzou wipe the blood from his face. 'Obviously that arm of his isn't just dead weight. The way he moves himself shows it still helps balance him, but he keeps it away from his opponent when attacking or defending. Like he's protecting it.'

"I think it's time to show you the true might I possess." Unshackling the wooden straps on his arm dropping them on the ground, he soon unrolled the bandage around his entire arm. Minato watched curiously wondering what he did but also has. "If one person controlled the Kyuubi once before, another can again, and that will be me. With this power I will control Konoha and Kyuubi."

Minato stood there shocked to see multiple sharingans implanted on his arm. An arm that was obviously surgically grafted onto him and was strongly discolored, as if it were unhealthy in some way. The sharingan in his head won't have given Minato much trouble, but seeing multiple sharingans on his pale arm and a strange face-like growth on his shoulder made the former hokage wonder what the limits of this elder truly were. He didn't even want to know how the biology worked here.

"Wait a minute." He took a step back, eyes narrowing. "Such an arm would have taken a lot of work to create and probably some prototypes first to even ensure it could actually function. There's no way you could have done this on your own, even with your secret soldiers. I was told you stole all of Orochimaru's research after he was forced to leave Konoha. You just proved that claim correct, and you used it on yourself."

'How long has Danzo been doing this? Working behind everyone's back using someone's else hard work for his own gain. Does anyone have any idea? Did Sarutobi help him keep this under wraps? I'm not even going to mention how ironic the fact that he stole sharingans for this is.' Minato thought to himself.

"If you're expecting remorse, you'll find none here." Danzou claimed before pulling out a nodachi and charging at Minato. This tactic greatly confused Minato, so he resorted to blocking it with one of his tri-kunai. Up close some tree limbs sprouted out of Danzou's body and began to engulf Minato.

'So he stole the mokuton as well as the sharingan. It's like he tried to give himself the powers of both Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, clearly from a desire to take Kyuubi for himself once he could find the fox.' Minato thought before using the hiraishin to get out of the tree cage.

The wooden snares separated from Danzou's body and created a new tree in the ground. Danzou looked around and checked his arm. 'You can't escape me forever Yondaime, especially since for now I'm unstoppable.'

* * *

In her hiding place, Subsonic was fuming. "That lousy son of a bitch. So this is why he had the Uchiha clan killed? So he could steal our eyes and use them to become something too gross for a freakshow?"

"How can he even use them? I mean, does he really need that many to copy jutsu with?" Yakumo asked, also appalled by the sight of the eyed arm.

Subsonic narrowed her eyes behind her mask. "No, that can't be it. The one in his eye socket would suffice for that. An abundance of eyes means he has something else planned for them. But for what reason would someone need so many-?" She stopped herself when it hit her. "Oh crap."

"You know something?" Yakumo asked.

"There's only one reason someone would require multiple sharingans in their body. And that's so they can use a technique that ends up costing the use of a single sharingan multiple times. He's using the forbidden technique Izanagi." Subsonic looked right in Yakumo's eyes. "Yondaime-sama is in trouble. Nothing he does now can hurt that man. But maybe you can."

"Me? How?"

"He's using a very powerful genjutsu. One that allows him to temporary alter the reality of himself and his jutsu. He can make reality fake and illusion real for a short time, but with those eyes he can do it more than once. The only way to beat him that I can think of is to hit him with an even stronger reality-altering genjutsu." Subsonic explained.

Yakumo gasped, getting the message. "But... I don't know if I can."

"If you don't try he's going to win and turn you into his slave. He's going to be a demon that you can't get out your head. Did you trade one monster for another?" Subsonic pressed.

Yakumo frowned and shook her head, remembering the fight Naruto had with the Id demon. "No, I'm finally free of something else controlling me and I'm not going back to that." She looked at Danzou, still fighting Minato. "I've got an idea, if Yondaime-sama can hold him for just a bit longer."

She began to draw.

* * *

'Damn, if only I was faster, I wouldn't have to settle for fighting just here.' Danzou rued, wishing he had the mobility of his youth and could take the battle to a more preferable environment.

A large toad ambushed him and spat out a great deal of oil. Danzou slashed it with his sword, cutting open the belly and making it bleed before it dispelled. Minato made a brief appearance behind the warhawk while he was occupied and hit him with a fire-ignition seal. The crippled elder went up in flames, only to reappear unharmed in a different spot.

"It's futile Yondaime, you cannot win." He proclaimed, holding up his right arm grasping his sword as if to fend off any additional attack.

"Even if you defeat me here Danzou, you'll never get what you want." The Yellow Flash countered.

"What makes you so sure?" Danzou asked.

"Because Danzou, in your effort to ensure you will become hokage, you've guaranteed you never can be." Minato claimed with a smile.

Danzou frowned and arched an eyebrow at the same time. "And how do you figure that?"

"Well, speaking as someone who _has_ held the title, the hokage has to be many things. A powerful ninja who can stand up to any enemy is obvious, but that's not the dominating factor. The hokage must be someone the village can trust their safety too, someone they can trust to be rational and not tyrannical."

"I'm not a tyrant. All I want is what's best for Konoha." Danzou insisted.

"Go ahead and tell yourself that Danzou, the evidence says otherwise. The evidence shows you're willing to enslave children to ensure they can only use their talents in ways you permit. It shows that when the village is in trouble you save yourself and leave the village to fight for itself. It shows you're willing to steal clan property for yourself, and if you can do _this_ kind of thing to your own body you'll have no problem doing this or worse to others."

"All for the greater good." Danzou claimed. "Everything for Konoha is and will always be the greater good. That's why the younger shinobi look to the older shinobi for a future. To show them how great they are. To show them the future and what to fight for. That's what I've been doing for all these years, trying to show them what it takes to be exceptional."

"Danzou look at yourself. You call this exceptional? I call you an old man who forced others to be what I'm assuming were involuntary donors for yourself and made yourself look like a monster. You tried to enslave a girl, and who knows how many other children you've done this to. You hid yourself when Konoha was in trouble instead of defend the village you love. What about the next time it happens? You gonna go scurry away like a rat again and leave your soldiers to die protecting the village that you claim is _your_ responsibility? No one in their right mind would support such a person as a hokage."

"I won't give them a choice." Danzou declared.

Minato shook his head. "And you say you're not a tyrant. In your mad quest to ensure your rise to power, you've alienated yourself from the very people you would have had power over. Something that the Uchiha clan knew all too well, but you obviously knew that seeing you stole from them. So tell me Danzou, what's the point of being hokage if no one likes you?"

Danzou scoffed. "You think I care if I'm liked? I never once said I wanted to be hokage to be liked, I want it because I want power. I want authority. I want everyone to do what I say, to prove my way of doing things is the right way. I want to prove the Nidaime was wrong for not picking me. I want-"

Before he could rant more the old warhawk felt a barrage of senbon come at him from every direction all at once, with the exceptions of underneath himself and from Minato's direction. The senbon came quickly and before he could dodge they turned him into a human pincushion, hitting everywhere including his many sharingans.

But then Danzou faded out of existence for a moment, and the senbon poofed into nonexistence themselves. Minato had placed several shadow clones secretly all around, and they all used the shadow senbon jutsu to strike in a way that was too much for an old man to do anything about even with twelve eyes.

Danzou then faded back into existence. "Nice try Yondaime, but not nice enough. You have to kill me many times before I stay dead. I only have to kill you once and once that is done not even Orochimaru will bring you back."

"True, but you have to hit me first, and you still haven't realized yet what my real plan is." Minato activated the Hiraishin and left.

'What does he mean by-?' Danzou asked himself, only to be hit by a quick attack from behind with a kunai cutting him on the left upper arm, just below the shoulder. He turned to look but he saw nothing but the wound, no attacker or weapon. Worst part was the wound hurt but wasn't significant enough to warrant using Izanagi to remove.

Then he felt another attack, this one being a clean cut to his right Achilles tendon, making him unable to stand anymore. That one did require Izanagi, which he used to undo the damage and become intact again.

'Damn, this is how he beat his enemies, by moving so fast they didn't know he was there until it was too late to stop him. And here I thought it only worked on large groups, not individuals.' Danzou rued. 'Wait, if he can get this close to me this quickly, then he must have a marker by me to anchor his jutsu.'

With that Danzou began to head off into the forest, wanting to get out of range of the Hiraishin markers. But before he could, Yakumo appeared from her hiding spot, frowning firmly at the warhawk and holding her sketchpad to her chest.

Danzou grinned. "So you've come to your senses eh?"

Rather than respond, Yakumo opened up her sketchpad and showed him her latest drawing.

"Ha, your trick isn't-AGH!" Danzou was interrupted when he felt the drawing the young brunette made become real for it. On the paper was a picture of his arm and face, drawn with kunais piercing each sharingan. It was drawn well but rather simply, detailed enough to get the genjutsu across.

The old warhawk felt it in each and every eye on his body, including his one original eye left. He felt them rip open as if cut by a blade and bleed profusely. The pain was excruciating, and despite it he tried to invoke Izanagi, but the pain only continued.

'What's going on? Why can't I rid myself of this devastation.' He asked himself, forcing himself to open his one normal and undamaged eye to look at the damage. Each sharingan on his person was bleeding profusely and forced close by the body's natural instinct to cover a bothered eye. 'She destroyed my sharingans and with them any jutsu they provide me. She actually beat the supreme genjutsu. With a genjutsu no less.'

If Danzou found irony humorous, this would have been a riot to him.

"Excellent work Yakumo-chan." Subsonic praised while reappearing next to the girl, then turned to the wounded elder. "Now Danzou, do you give up, or do we have to make you give up?"

Danzou lightly laughed. "_Make_ me give up? How do you plan to do that? If you plan on using that girl as leverage against me, it won't work. I may want her alive, but I won't lose any sleep if she dies. No one in this village will. They fear her power almost as much as they fear the bijuu."

"Who said we were using her?" Subsonic asked, then patted Yakumo's shoulder.

"Should you kill him?" Yakumo asked.

"He's harmless, can't really do anything now other than kill himself." Subsonic replied. "But he is dangerous, and possibly has extra sharingan in storage somewhere to replace any he loses, so we're not going to let him live."

"Allow me." Minato said, appearing from above Danzou two rasengans ready in his hands. He rammed them right into Danzou's shoulders, shredding the flesh then bone, cleaving the arms from his body. Both arms. The old man yelled obscenities while yelling in pain, and called out for his Root agents. Unfortunately for him they had already been taken down by Subsonic and her assistants while Minato had been keeping Danzou busy.

After a bit the pain decreased just enough that Danzou could ask something. "Why haven't you killed me yet and gotten it over with?"

"Strategy mostly." Minato answered cryptically.

Danzou fumed despite the agony he was still in. But without his arms or sharingans he couldn't do anything. He couldn't even use his suicide-mokuton technique anymore in a last ditch effort to kill them with him. "Damn you Namikaze! Damn you to hell! Your new village will be destroyed by Konoha even if I'm not the one leading the war." A kick to his head shut him up, but didn't kill him.

"You talk too much old man." Subsonic stated, then looked to Yakumo. "Do you want to go? We're not forcing you."

"But keep in mind we can't remove this unless we go to Oto. And if the seal stays on, who knows what else it can do to you." Minato asked, then glanced at her sketchpad. "Looks like your uncle thinks it's a good idea."

"What do you mean?" She asked, looking at the message written in blood. "What does 'Safe and sound' mean to you?"

"It doesn't say 'Safe and sound' dear, it says 'Safe _in_ Sound'." Subsonic corrected. "Your uncle was telling you to come with us."

"But why would he say that?" Yakumo asked, not seeing why he'd make such a suggestion. At the same time Minato created another rasengan and used it to decapitate Danzou, finally killing him. Some ready-to-make-fire seals were used to destroy his body before any hidden deadman-switch seals could activate on him, which was the real reason they hadn't been in such a hurry to kill Danzou.

Subsonic smiled under her mask. "Let's just say someone in Oto wants to see you, and you want to see them. Plus it's the only place where we can ensure you're safe from anyone else in Konoha that knows to use the seal on you. What are the odds that this man is the only one who knew about it?"

"Who wants to see me?" Yakumo asked.

"You'll see when you get there."

"By the way Subsonic, don't you want to see your son while you're here?" Minato asked.

The disguised Uchiha matriarch shook her head. "No, it's too soon for that. He needs more time to work things out. But soon, I will come back for him." She looked to Yakumo. "You coming?"

Yakumo looked at her sketchpad, and cried for her uncle. "I suppose I will. But can you help my uncle?"

"We already have, and he understands everything." Subsonic told the girl. "Alright, let's go."

With that, the two visitors from Oto left, taking with them another of Konoha's members. And the village was unaware it had even happened.

But one person knew what happened. Sai quickly wrote down 'Danzou-sama has been killed'. The inkused morphed into a mouse and ran off to Root headquarters to let all who supported the warhawk of his demise.

'Danzou-sama will be avenged.' The pale boy vowed.


End file.
